Palimony: Griffin vs Cameron

Blake Griffin is a basketball player. He was a college superstar and was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers. There he continued to shine until he was traded to the Detroit Pistons beginning with the 2018 season.

For eight years he had an ongoing relationship with Brynn Cameron. Although they never married, they lived together and have two children together. They were also engaged to be married, but in 2017, Griffin called off the wedding and left Cameron for reality television star Kendall Jenner.

On Valentine’s Day of 2018, Cameron filed a palimony lawsuit against Griffin alleging he abandoned her and their children for Jenner.

According to TMV, the lawsuit states, “…Griffin made repeated pledges to Cameron, promising to support her after insisting she abandon her sports marketing job and interior design business.

The suit says Brynn did everything for Blake ... ‘Cameron was not just the mother of Griffin's children and their caregiver, she was also a constant support for Griffin -- his personal assistant, meal planner, scheduler, stylist, publicist, party planner, nurse, nutritionist, branding expert, therapist, cheerleader, basketball and fitness consultant, and more.’”

The term “palimony” is not a legal term, but one made famous by the media during the famous Marvin vs. Marvin case. In that case, Michelle Triola Marvin lived with actor Lee Marvin until he dumped her. Michelle filed a cause of action against Marvin based on a promise Lee made to Michelle that if she gave up her career to live with him, he would provide for her for the rest of her life. When he dumped her, according to Michelle, Lee reneged on that promise. Lee contended that promises could not be legally upheld based on sexual relationships.

The Marvin case made its way all the way to the California State Supreme Court which found: “…[W]e base our opinion on the principle that adults who voluntarily live together and engage in sexual relations are nonetheless as competent as any other persons to contract respecting their earnings and property rights… So long as the agreement does not rest upon illicit meretricious consideration, the parties may order their economic affairs as they choose, and no policy precludes the courts from enforcing such contracts.”

The court also found a Marvin plaintiff must prove some other underlying basis for his or her claim, such as an express or implied contract.

According to Wikipedia in states that recognize palimony claims (and California does), “[t]here must be a clear agreement, written or oral, by both partners stipulating the extent of financial sharing or support in order for palimony to be granted…”

Stay tuned to learn whether Brynn Cameron wins her suit against Blake Griffin…