Denise Richards’ paychecks are safe from being garnished after a Los Angeles judge ruled against her husband Aaron Phypers’ creditors’ request, Us Weekly can exclusively report.
According to court documents filed on June 4, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied a motion filed by debt collector company Creditors Adjustment Bureau, to which Phypers owes $228,000.
Phypers, 52, who wed Richards, 54, in 2018, was ordered to pay the company $228,000 in July 2024.
The legal drama started in 2022 when Creditors Adjustment Bureau filed the lawsuit against Phypers and his wellness company, Quantum Epigenetics Consulting LLC.
The debt collector accused Phypers of defaulting on a $190,000 business loan he took out in late 2019.
Phypers admitted he missed payments but blamed the situation on the pandemic.
Phypers’ lawyer argued, “Those events could be neither anticipated nor controlled, and the effects were beyond the control of the parties and imposed an extreme hardship, expense or difficulty rendering performance impossible.”
A short time before the parties were headed to trial, they worked out a settlement, which required Phypers to make five-figure monthly payments.
The payments were to start in late 2023 and run until February 2025.
However, the debt collector claimed Phypers failed to make the required payments and defaulted once again.
The company told the court that Phypers did make a couple of payments totaling $40,000.
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In court documents, the company claimed the last payment was made in February 2024.
Creditors Adjustment Bureau asked for the court to enter a judgment of $228,000 against Phypers, which was approved.
Earlier this year, Creditors Adjustment asked for permission to seize Richards’ money due to her marriage to Phypers.
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Their lawyer wrote, “Denise Richards currently is, and at the time the debt was incurred was, the spouse of Defendant and Judgment Debtor Aaron William Cameron Phypers aka Aaron Phypers aka Aaron W. Phypers and is responsible for the community property debts.”
According to court documents obtained by Us, Phypers fired back at the request.
He argued the company had failed to provide any “admissible evidence” that he was actually married to Richards, who was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit or accused of having anything to do with Phypers’ loan.
“Judgment creditor presents no evidence that [Phypers] and [Richards’] assets are community property,” Phypers’ lawyer argued.
“An attachment order or other collection order that permits recovery from unspecified assets is inappropriate and overly broad, potentially permitting seizure of assets that are not community property.”
His lawyer added, “While marital earnings (assuming the two are married) are generally community property, that is not necessarily the case. Married couple can enter into transmutation and other agreements that change the character of assets and earnings.”
Creditors Adjustment responded to Phypers’ argument and asked that his opposition be rejected by the court.
A lawyer for the company stated, “It is an entirely undisputed fact that Denise Richards is the spouse of [Phypers]. If this contention was not true, Aaron Phypers or his wife would have simply declared in his opposition that they are not married making [their] motion futile. This glaring omission speaks volumes and mandates granting the motion.”
“Instead of simply denying the marriage, [Phypers] erroneously [claimed] that [Creditors Adjustment] did not present sufficient evidence to show the spousal relationship,” the company’s lawyer added.
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“The reason the opposition never even hints at denying the marriage is because they are in fact married,” the lawyer said.
Creditors Adjustment made the argument that Richards is liable for her husband’s debt, which should allow them to go after her money to settle the $228,000 owed.
“Given the marriage between [Richards and Phypers] is a routine and frequent topic in social media and created headlines in the entertainment world, this fact cannot reasonably be subject of dispute. The marriage can be corroborated throughout social media, news and entertainment outlets,” the lawyer said.
“Furthermore, the marriage can be immediately and accurately corroborated through Denise Richards’ social media,” they added.
At the recent hearing, the judge sided with Phypers. The court said the debt collector never provided proof that it had served Richards with any notice of the hearing.
Further, the judge noted, “Moreover, the motion seeks to attach all wage earnings and other assets in the name, possession, custody and/or control of Ms. Richards rather than specific wage earnings tied to [Creditors Adjustment Bureau’s] community property argument.”
Phypers is being sued for fraud in a separate lawsuit, according to In Touch. Sources told the outlet that Phypers denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
