As Kat Von D begins to settle down in Indiana with her husband Leafar Seyer and their son Leafar Von D Reyes, the 39-year-old celebrity tattoo artist and makeup mogul is facing new legal trouble in California. Von D is being sued for unpaid rent and damages to the rental property she transformed into her famed L.A. tattoo parlor High Voltage Tattoo, and she may be forced to shell out tens of thousands of dollars.
TMZ broke the news of the lawsuit on Monday, April 11. Although details remain scarce, the outlet, which said it obtained legal documents, reported the property’s landlord is suing Von D for unpaid rent, claiming that the L.A. Ink alum owes over $92,000 for remodeling fees and back rent. The back rent was from several months in 2020 and future rent that will come due in 2022. Von D is also being sued for damages, the lawsuit stating that the tattoo artist removed ceiling tiles, painted the ceiling, removed wallpaper from the entire store, and also demolished a wall located in the middle of the West Hollywood shop. Von D has not publicly addressed the suit at this time and representatives for the artist did not respond to TMZ‘s request for comment.
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Von D opened High Voltage in 2007 after she was offered her own shop following her time on Miami Ink. The shop was featured in her TLC show L.A. Ink. In October 2021, Von D announced that after 14 years in business, the L.A. tattoo parlor would close. Von D explained that she and her husband “recently purchased a beautiful home on a bit of land in rural Indiana,” adding that “the more time we spend out there we realize we feel more at home there than we do here in LA.” Von D said that “after much thought, we have decided we will permanently be moving to Indiana at the end of this year.”
“We plan on selling our beautiful home here, and I will most likely open a private studio in Indiana once we are done with the house remodel there,” she wrote. “This means that, sadly, I will be closing my beloved tattoo shop [High Voltage] here in West Hollywood on Dec 1. I didn’t think it would make sense to keep it open if I wasn’t present, and aside from coming back to work on music with my band, we don’t plan on returning to LA very often.”
Von D ended the post with a message of gratitude, thanking her “beloved tattoo family that I’ve had the honor and privilege of working alongside.” She also thanked her fans “for showing my little shop so much love!”
