The son of former reality TV star Jesse James has been hit with a $1 million lawsuit stemming from alleged pain and anguish inflicted on his ex-girlfriend. According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline, Lucee Peterson filed the lawsuit against Jesse Eli James on March 29. The suit was filed one month after a judge dismissed a lawsuit James Jr. filed over $20,000 she allegedly threw out during one of his arrests.
The Peterson lawsuit outlines around a dozen alleged acts of domestic violence across 13 months starting back in March 2020, right around the time when COVID-19 started spreading. The alleged violence continued until April 2021 when Peterson was awarded a lifetime protection order against James Jr.
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“Defendant intentionally or recklessly engaged in a pattern of extreme and outrageous conduct that caused (Peterson) to suffer severe emotional distress,” the lawsuit alleges. “Defendant sent (Peterson) over fifty text messages, violating the Emergency Protection Order…Defendant threatened (Peterson) stating: ‘I’m not lying this is why I wanna f- hit you. I’m going to end up dumping you driving away or knocking you the f- out.”
James Jr. ended up sentenced to two days in jail in May 2021 after violating the protective order. He was also sentenced to five years probation for a felony “Continuous Family Violence” conviction. He was facing 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The conviction and situation reportedly “blindsided” his stepmother, Sandra Bullock, who married the elder James in 2005 before divorcing in 2010 amid a cheating scandal. According to Radar, one of the straws that broke the camel’s back was James Jr. filing an appeal to the decision to toss his $20,000 claim against Peterson. “After the Court entered a directed verdict in favor of (Peterson), Defendant continued to drag out his meritless claim by appealing, preventing (Peterson) from being able to cut ties with the Defendant, her abuser,” the legal filing reads.
The lawsuit is the latest drama for the James family, on the heels of James Sr. and his wife, former adult performer Bonnie Rotten, having a public spat over more alleged cheating by James. The reality star denied the accusations, with Rotten responding by getting a protective order and filing for divorce. This passed, though, and the couple are back together currently.