More bad news for Andre Salaman Bautista.
The Daytime Emmy-winning producer, who earlier this week was charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing his tenant and roommate, is now being sued by several other tenants, who claim he’s a slumlord.
While Baustista sat behind bars, the lawsuit was filed Wednesday by tenants of a building he co-owns and co-manages in Hollywood with business partner Geoffrey Lichtman.
Legal documents obtained by TheWrap say the building is decaying and that Bautista — who’s being sued under his professional name, Andre Bauth — and Lichtman rented to tenants “under the guise of enrollment in the Artist Advantage Group Academy” which gave them tenancy in the rent-controlled building.
However, the suit alleges, Bautista and Lichtman didn’t register the rental units, as required by Los Angeles’ Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and failed to obtain a valid certificate of occupancy.
Moreover, the suit says, the building is a total hell-hole, with vermin infestation; deteriorated and worn walls and ceilings; faulty and leaking pipes; faulty wiring and unsanitary and worn flooring, among other issues.
The tenants claim that they brought the issues to Bautista and Lichtman’s attention, but they either ignored them or repaired them “in a haphazard and substandard manner.”
The tenants also claim that Bautista and Lichtman retaliated against them by removing their furniture and property from the building, filing unlawful detainer actions “in an attempt to wrongfully evict Plaintiffs.”
The pair’s conduct has been “willful, oppressive and malicious,” the suit claims, and the condition of the building has led to “injuries and health problems” as well as “mental suffering, frustration and emotional distress.”
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Eric Castelblanco, told Fox 11 Los Angeles that the tenants paid about $600 a month to stay at the building and attend the Artists Advantage Group Academy, which turned out to be bogus.
“Over time it wasn’t even an academy at all. There were no tools for us to use. There was no legitimate curriculum. There were no scheduled teachers,” Bobby Jones, one of the plaintiffs, said. The suit is seeking damages totaling at least a million dollars.
As for the attempted murder charge, Bautista allegedly attacked 23-year-old actor Clayton Haymes with a kitchen knife at their Studio City home on Sept. 8.
The incident reportedly happened after Bautista bragged that he would one day win five Oscars and Haymes scoffed at the notion.
Bauth received his Daytime Emmy for producing the online soap opera series, “The Bay.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.