Vernita Lee, Oprah Winfrey's Mom, Sued Over Unpaid $156K Store Bill

MILWAUKEE — A high-end clothing store in Brookfield, Wisconsin, is suing Oprah Winfrey's mother for failing to pay her bill.

The civil complaint says Vernita Lee of Milwaukee owed Valentina nearly $156,000 for purchases and interest as of July 1st and has failed to make the monthly minimum payment of $2,000.

Store attorney Joseph Niebler Sr. says his client tried to resolve the matter with Lee before filing the lawsuit in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

The lawsuit says Lee told store officials she doesn't think she owes the money. Reached by telephone, Lee declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Valentina co-owner Tony Chirchirillo says a $150,000 bill isn't unusual for a client with a full calendar of social events.

A nonbinding mediation session is set for September 16th.

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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com

Comments

[Burnsey]

I see all the ugly comments from the republican proletariat, they are attacking someones family, so does that mean that they think famlies are fair game? I thought they all just said that famlies were off limits in a political fight (and trust me the only reason they are commenting is that Oprah supports Obama). Such right -ous indignation, what a suprise.

[ohiomark]

Oprah's mom is deep in debt and Obama's brother lives in a hut on $12 a year.

I see a pattern.

[Eric8869]

You always hear Oprah talk about her father the barber and her Grandmother. You never hear about her mother. Enough said.

[cyndeewi]

What does this have to do with Oprah? Leave her mother alone.

[a4audi08]

Sounds like 1) fraud or 2) Oprah's mom thought she doesn't have to pay since she probably told a bunch of her similarly wealthy friends where it was she got all of those clothes. Either way this is a waste of HP's bandwidth.

[pupbayer]

You can always count on getting all of the big news on this site.

[MariaHopeful]

Oprah will buy the store.

[Ironfox]

This is news?

[larry278]

Ms Winfrey has a toxic mother.

[Triangle1]

That's what some houses cost. Why would the store give away that much merchandise without reviewing a credit report or having some type of collateral agreement in place? At $2000 a month, it would take 78 months to bring her account current. And that's if she starts repeating outfits to social events and buys nothing new, and without interest. That's a lot of money for even Oprah to sneeze out. http://mespace.wordpress.com

[Lurker50]

my dog peed on the neighbor's lawn, the grass is yellow...

yawn

[SUNRAI]

And I'm sure Steadman has a few bills too! Welcome to America!

[ladyrefined2000]

ah, come on, oprah's mom. ....leave her alone.

[blindd]

poor parenting, poor judgement, how can you trust someone who was raised by a thief and liar, very bad for oprah, they should look into more of her dirty secrets

[NYCMami]

so?