Follow-Up: Co-Defendant Asks Court to Set Aside $4 Million Judgment in Playboy Employee Overdose Death Case
LOS ANGELES — There is a new development in the $4 million judgment over the 2017 overdose death of Playboy employee Kimberly Fattorini. According to court documents obtained by TMZ on October 22, nightclub promoter Elias Wehbe, who was ordered to pay alongside former NFL star Shawne Merriman, has asked the court to set aside the judgment entered against him, arguing that the judgment was not properly entered and that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support it. TMZ reported that Merriman himself has not yet filed a response of his own in the case, and no court ruling on Wehbe's request has been reported.
The judgment was formally entered only this month. As GSM reported on October 19, a Los Angeles County judge entered the $4 million judgment on October 5, holding Merriman, Elias Wehbe, J.P. Castro and Monica Maass responsible for the award payable to Fattorini's parents, DeAnn and Ferdinand Fattorini; a jury had found the four defendants liable last year. The judge also ruled in favor of the nightclub defendants, including The Highlight Room, Tao Group and The Warwick, which owe nothing to the family.
The case stems from July 21, 2017, when Fattorini, 30, a casting associate at Playboy, was found unresponsive after a night out in Los Angeles and died. The county coroner ruled her death accidental, with alcohol, cocaine and GHB found in her system. GHB is a depressant commonly known as a date-rape drug. Her parents sued in 2019, alleging that someone put GHB in her drink and that she may have been sexually assaulted; the suit said Fattorini had texted the promoter from an after-party that Merriman's friend had poured half a G into her drink.
Merriman has denied any wrongdoing throughout. His representative told TMZ at the time that the allegations were baseless, that Merriman had simply attended an after-party, and that police had investigated thoroughly and found no wrongdoing on his part; no criminal case was ever brought. Wehbe's filing challenges the civil judgment as entered against him, and the court will decide whether to grant the request. (GSM via TMZ)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：洛杉矶县高等法院大楼外景（资料图）。照片：Visitor7 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: The Los Angeles County Superior Court building (file photo). By Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-19Ex-NFL Star Shawne Merriman and Three Others Ordered to Pay $4M in Playboy Employee Wrongful Death Case
- 2026-10-22Follow-Up: Co-Defendant Asks Court to Set Aside $4 Million Judgment in Playboy Employee Overdose Death CaseThis story
