Months after Super Bowl debacle, Jill Zarin gets sued over Florida business deal
It’s all fun and games until someone gets sued.
Jill Zarin is in hot legal water over a business deal gone wrong over something that should have been entertaining: pickleball.
According to a civil lawsuit filed April 15 in Palm Beach County, the “Real Housewives of NYC” alum was sued by an ex-partner in her company, Pickle Pro Labs.
Noah Springer claims the Bravolebrity and her manager/bf Gary Brody edged him out of his role in developing a pickleball-related machine called Go-No-Go, which tests a paddle’s efficiency on site.
Court records say Springer, who first linked up with Zarin and Brody in late 2022 and later appeared with them on a controversial episode of “Below Deck,” invested $500,000, 25% in the venture.
Roughly two years into their professional relationship, Springer alleges he stopped getting paid $5,000 per month, despite providing labor and time.
He claims he soon learned that the pair diverted assets to a new, third party company — GNG Enterprises FL — to make the gadget without his knowledge. He accuses them of using his money for themselves, e.g., paying for Brody’s $700 a month health insurance.
“Based on information and belief, Defendants have been diverting funds invested by Springer for their personal benefit and personal use,” court files say, adding they blocked Zarin and Brody on corporate emails.
Springer is seeking “injunctive relief” preventing his ex-partners from further shifting Pickle Pro’s assets and restoring all revenue from transactions into a trust.
Springer’s attorney Gabriel S. Saade released a statement to the Miami Herald on Thursday:
“Mr. Springer’s sole goal in pursuing this action is for his ownership interests and investments to be respected and for him to be compensated adequately — nothing more, nothing less. Had Ms. Zarin and/or her entities responded to our pre-suit requests to resolve this matter amicably, these lawsuits may have been avoided entirely. Mr. Springer remains open to a reasonable resolution but will continue to pursue all available legal remedies, including the recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs, to protect his rights.”
This isn’t the first time Zarin — who hasn’t publicly commented on the legal action — is making headlines for the wrong reasons.
In February, right after Bad Bunny’s sizzling halftime Super Bowl show inspired by his native Puerto Rico, the Boca Raton resident shared opinions that came back to bite her.
“I don’t speak Spanish, I would have liked to have known the words he was saying. To me, it looked like a political statement because there were literally no white people in the entire thing,” the reality alum griped on social media “I’m not taking a side one way or the other, I just do. I think it was an ICE thing. I just think that the NFL sold out ... shame, shame.”
Within hours of the diatribe, the 62-year-old widow lost her spot on E!’s “RHONY” spinoff in Palm Beach called “The Golden Life.” Zarin’s former castmate Dorinda Medley got the gig instead.
“We remain committed to delivering the series in line with our company standards and values,” said a statement from the production company, Blink49 Studios.
