Carmen Efferson, the former fiancée of Stevie Wonder, has formally contested the singer's attempt to remove her from the Los Angeles residence she has called home for decades, filing a response in court on Tuesday that denies all of his claims and asks a judge to compel repairs to the property.
The filing, reported by TMZ.com, sets up a legal confrontation over a house Efferson has occupied since July 1988 under what Wonder describes as a verbal agreement with no written lease and a monthly rent of $0. Wonder contends that arrangement has run its course and is seeking to evict her.
In her response, Efferson denies the allegations in Wonder's prior legal filing and urges the court not to remove her from the home. She further argues that Wonder has behaved as a negligent landlord and asks the judge to order him to make improvements to the property.
According to the filing, the residence suffers from damp or leaking ceilings and walls, holes in the walls, floors, and carpet, falling plaster or peeling paint, defective or leaking plumbing, and numerous additional issues. Efferson states that she wants these problems addressed as soon as possible.
Wonder's original lawsuit also claims that he sent multiple individuals to the house for an insurance inspection and that Efferson refused to allow anyone inside. Efferson's response disputes the claims in that filing.
A source close to Efferson told TMZ.com that she was blindsided by the lawsuit and that she has told friends Wonder promised the home to her. The case now rests with the court, which will weigh Wonder's eviction bid against Efferson's counterclaims regarding the condition of the property.