*Stevie Wonder’s former fiancée has lived in his Los Angeles home since 1988, and she has told friends he promised her the house. Now he is suing to evict her.
A source close to Carmen Efferson told TMZ the lawsuit caught her completely off guard. Wonder’s side insists emotions play no part. Another source told TMZ the case comes down to protecting the property and keeping its insurance in place.
The living arrangement goes back nearly four decades. According to court documents TMZ first reported, Efferson moved in under a verbal agreement in July 1988 and never paid rent. Wonder says she covered only utilities.
That agreement unraveled this summer, as EURweb previously reported. Wonder’s team tried to get an insurance inspector into the house, and Efferson allegedly refused to let them in on multiple occasions.
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In July, his lawyers revoked her right to live there and set an Aug. 27 deadline. She stayed. Wonder now wants a judge to order her out and cover his damages and legal costs.
Along the way, the dispute turned bitter. In one profanity-laced email, Efferson allegedly accused a Wonder attorney of a “racist cold-blooded ‘white male privilege’” attitude and demanded the legal team stop contacting her.
Attorney David Huff fired back, noting that the lawyer who first reached out to her is not a white man. He warned that blocking the inspection could lead to eviction.
Behind the legal fight is a long personal history. Their romance came and went over the years, starting in the 1980s, and included an engagement that never led to marriage. The music icon wed Tomeeka Robyn Bracy in 2017.
Efferson never received a deed to the property, but she made it her family’s home. Her mother also lived there until her death, the source said.
Efferson has not filed a response to the case. California generally requires a court order to evict a tenant.
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