Judge Rules Lady Gaga Won’t Have to Pay $500K Reward in Dognapping Case

Lady Gaga just won big in court.

On Monday, a Los Angeles judge ruled again that the musician does not have to pay Jennifer McBride, an accomplice in the February 2021 kidnapping of Gaga’s two dogs, Koji and Gustavto, the $500,000 reward offered at the time for returning her French bulldogs. 

The court noted that since McBride pleaded no contest to knowingly receiving stolen property in connection to the crime back in 2022, she was therefore “not entitled to thereafter benefit from their wrongdoing by seeking to enforce the contract,” according to docs obtained by ET.

McBride, who was one of five co-defendants charged in connection with the theft of the prized French bulldogs in 2021, filed a lawsuit against Gaga in February for the reward, plus $1.5 million in additional damages. McBride’s attorney had argued that by stating “no questions asked” with the reward offering and failing to pay, Gaga committed a breach of contract, fraud by false promise and fraud by misrepresentation.

Gaga argued that McBride is precluded from collecting the award money due to her involvement in the dog theft, making McBride’s suit “legally insufficient in its entirety.”

In July, the judge agreed, finding that McBride’s involvement in the theft of Koji and Gustavto means that Gaga’s promised reward for the safe return of her dogs is not enforceable as a contract.

Monday’s final decision comes after McBride had been given 20 days to amend her filing, claiming she was “in no way involved in the theft” and only “took possession” of the dogs to return them, according to the documents.

The court’s ruling says that it now “finds that nothing alleged in the [first amended complaint] changes this conclusion.” The judge will not allow McBride another revised complaint, and the case is closed.

In February 2021, James Howard Jackson and two others were allegedly roaming through West Hollywood, California, and the San Fernando Valley, looking for French bulldogs and other expensive breeds of dogs to steal for profit.

The group came across Ryan Fischer, who was walking the pop star’s three dogs. The group dognapped two of the French bulldogs, and Fischer was shot in the chest by Jackson in the course of the robbery.

Gaga then released her “no questions asked” reward offer in return for the dogs.

McBride filed her suit back in February, claiming in court docs previously obtained by ET that she was denied a $500,000 “no questions asked” reward. In the suit, McBride not only wanted the $500,000 but also asked the court to triple the damages to $1.5 million due to the allegedly misleading reward. 

McBride’s suit alleged that Gaga never intended to pay the “no questions asked” reward money. Instead, law enforcement asked McBride questions about the return of the bulldogs. As a result, McBride claimed she endured pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.

McBride reported that she found the dogs and responded to the reward email to return the dogs. She also ultimately brought the dogs to LAPD Olympic Station. McBride also said she responded to the email about the $500,000 reward money that Gaga said she would give to the person who returned them.

However, detectives claimed that they were able to establish McBride had a relationship with the father of one of the suspects, Jaylin White.

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