Chip Gaines' Former Business Partner Trashes Him in a New Interview
Last week, Chip Gaines was sued by his two former real-estate business partners to the tune of $1 million. Those business partners, John Lewis and Richard Clark, claim Gaines bought them out of Magnolia Realty for cheap without telling them he had just signed a deal with HGTV. Gaines's lawyer called the claims "meritless," but one of the former partners is now speaking out about the end of his friendship with the Fixer Upper star.
In an interview with People, Lewis says by the time Gaines bought them out of the company, their friendship was essentially over, and the HGTV deal added insult to injury. Gaines has pushed back against the lawsuit, writing on Twitter that the only way the two had reached out to him was "via lawsuit."
Fyi: Ive had the same cell # 15 yrs.. same email for 20 yrs. No one called or emailed? 4 years later "friends" reach out via lawsuit.. humm
- Chip Gaines (@chippergaines) April 29, 2017
But Lewis took issue with the tweet, saying they made Gaines aware of their complaints this past summer. "We were doing everything we could in an attempt to resolve this matter privately," Lewis said. "We waited as long as we could before having to file this lawsuit. But as of today, [Gaines] has failed to take responsibility for any of the allegations outlined in our petition."
Gaines' lawyer, Jordan Mayfield, clarified things a bit to People. "The fact is that for over 3 years Chip heard nothing from Mr. Lewis or Mr. Clark about these issues," he said. "The first time he did hear from them was in the form of a demand letter from a lawyer threatening a lawsuit." So he did hear from them, but only in a legal capacity and not simply as friends in town.
But despite all the acrimony, there might be an easy way to clear things up. "It was my hope to get this resolved privately and I thought we took every step possible to allow that to happen," Lewis told the Waco Tribune. "Other than my complaint about my interest in the real estate company, I am happy for the success Chip has had and the positive impact that success has had on Waco. If Chip's legal team will give me permission to talk to him, I'll be happy to call him to try and work this out."
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