Stevie Wonder files lawsuit to evict woman who allegedly lived in his home rent-free for nearly 40 years

Stevie Wonder is taking legal action to evict a woman who has allegedly lived in one of his homes without paying rent for nearly four decades. 

The Grammy-winning singer filed a complaint against Carmen Efferson in Los Angeles Superior Court on October 22, asking the court to require her to leave his property in Studio City, California.  

The complaint was obtained and reported by several international media outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and PEOPLE. According to the reports, Carmen is Stevie’s former fiancé.  

As said in the complaint, Stevie and Carmen reached a verbal agreement in 1988 that allowed her to live in the property without paying monthly rent. 

Tensions reportedly began in July this year when Stevie’s representatives attempted to access the property multiple times to update and maintain its insurance coverage, according to an email exchange between his legal representatives and Carmen included in the complaint. 

On July 23, one of Stevie’s attorneys notified Carmen of a property inspection scheduled for the following week. Two days later, Carmen emailed another one of Stevie’s attorneys, asking to “please refrain from your rascist [sic] coldblooded ‘white male privilege’ tone.” 

“I’m feeling harassed,” Carmen said, according to screenshots of her email. “Regarding your ORDERS of entering into the place where I am living, I do not consent.” 

Stevie’s attorney responded that the lawyer who sent the inspection notice “is neither racist, coldblooded, white or male.” 

In an email dated July 27, Carmen also threatened to “immediately contact law enforcement” upon further attempts by Stevie’s representatives to enter the property. 

According to the complaint, a 30-day notice was issued the day after the email exchange. The notice stated that Carmen had been given the opportunity to reconsider her decision to deny access to the property but had declined. She was ordered to vacate the home by August 27. 

The complaint also described Carmen’s continued possession of the property as “malicious.” 

On October 6, Stevie’s lawyers issued another notice, giving Carmen three days to leave and citing an alleged violation of their verbal agreement. His attorneys also claimed they had provided “three additional opportunities to permit entry” for the inspection, but Carmen failed to respond. 

The notice also warned that the property’s insurance coverage had been affected by the dispute. 

“Owner has been prejudiced by the cancellation of the property insurance policy and is now at substantial risk of economic loss by virtue of your actions to prevent the protection and preservation of the Premises,” the attorneys said in the notice.  

Stevie’s lawyers further warned that he would file a complaint if Carmen refused to allow access to the property again.  

The lawsuit seeks the termination of the verbal agreement, along with reasonable attorney fees, and statutory damages of up to $600 (around ₱38,000) over Carmen’s alleged continued possession of the property.   

As of writing, Stevie and Carmen had not responded to requests for comment from international media outlets. 

Stevie is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in music, known for hits such as “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Superstition,” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” Despite being blind shortly after birth, he rose to fame as a child piano prodigy and went on to become a celebrated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, earning numerous Grammy Awards throughout his career.