Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis’ children’s former nanny, Ericka Genaro, has appealed the court’s decision to move the case to mediation.
“We respectfully disagree with the judge’s decision to move this case into private arbitration and are seeking all avenues to have the ruling reversed and allow us to try this case before a jury of their peers,” Genaro’s attorney, Ron Zambrano, told Us Weekly in a statement. “We believe the judge did not apply the actual facts presented to applicable law which should have led to a finding that the agreement was unenforceable.”
Zambrano added: “The evidence is insurmountable to support our claims, including text messages and testimony that she was driven to quit, then was summarily fired anyway. Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis merely want this case moved into arbitration to silence Ms. Genaro. We believe they should not be given special treatment merely because they are celebrities and should have to face their accuser in court.”
Genaro filed her appeal in California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal on Tuesday, October 3, claiming that it was an “error” to grant Wilde and Sudeikis’ motion to move the case from a courtroom setting to arbitration. Us Weekly has reached out to Wilde and Sudeikis for comment.
Us confirmed in February that Genaro named Wilde, 39, and Sudeikis, 47, in a lawsuit, claiming she was wrongfully fired as the nanny to their son Otis, 9, and daughter Daisy, 6. The plaintiff was Otis and Daisy’s nanny beginning in 2019 before she was allegedly let go due to the anxiety and depression she developed as a result of her employment.
Genaro even claimed that Wilde “abruptly left” the family home in 2020 upon her breakup with the Ted Lasso star, causing “adverse consequences” on Sudeikis’ emotional state. The nanny further alleged that Sudeikis had started leaning on her for support, asking her to “stay up at night” to discuss his split, which she “felt compelled to engage in” since he was her boss. Genaro then detailed the conversations to Wilde, who seemed sympathetic to her feelings. Sudeikis later told Genaro that Wilde had informed him of their exchange.
Wilde and Sudeikis — who split in November 2020 ahead of the Don’t Worry Darling director’s romance with Harry Styles — subsequently denied her claims. Earlier this year, they confirmed their plans to dismiss the case entirely.
“It is unfortunate that this private matter continues to play out in the press. Our focus has been and will continue to be to steadfastly protect our family in the face of harassment of any kind,” Wilde and Sudeikis told Us in a joint May statement. “We are confident that the evidence brought forward will affirm our position to summarily dismiss this case and bring our family peace.”
They further claimed that Genaro and her legal team had improperly filed the case as a civil lawsuit in California instead of as a hearing before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in New York. In their pursuit of dismissing the lawsuit, Wilde and the Saturday Night Live alum will be able to bring forth the complaints to the AAA.
Wilde — who split from Styles, 29, in November 2022 — and Sudeikis share custody of Otis and Daisy. They reached a child support agreement in September with the Kansas native agreeing to pay Wilde $27,500 per month in child support.
