Chart-topping pop and R&B singer, Rihanna, will be heading to mediation to settle a dispute concerning a home she purchased for $6.9 million in 2009 that the singer claims is a defective property.  The mediation hearing, which is set to occur on May 7, is hoped to settle a lawsuit that has already been filed by the singer against Prudential California Realty; LaRocca Inspection Associations; Landmark Design Group; and Adriana and Heather Rudomin, the former owners of the home. 

Rihanna's lawsuit alleges several offenses, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, breach of contract and breach of implied warranty.  After the home flooded after a light rainstorm, Rihanna made the statement that she would have not purchased the home if she had been aware of this potential.  According to the singer, the defendants all played a role in failing to disclose significant defects in the mansion’s construction that caused the significant flooding and subsequent high repair bills Rihanna was forced to pay. 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos scheduled a trial for Feb. 24, 2014 if mediation is unsuccessful.  All defendants, including Landmark Design Group LLC must be present at mediation.  Landmark Design Group assisted with renovations on the home in 2007, before Rihanna purchased it. 

However the former owners of the home, Adriana and Heather Rudomin, did not appear at the initial hearing in which the judge ordered mediation.  Due to their failure to appear, the judge issued $500 in monetary sanctions against them and ordered them to appear, with their attorneys, at a later court date on March 12 to provide an explanation. 

According to Rihanna’s lawyer, Miles Cooley, the 24-year-old singer trusted the Rudomins in the purchase of the home and relied on their full disclosure of the home’s faults and propensity to flood, which they did not provide.  A storm in 2010 flooded the home, although it didn’t drop significant amounts of rain on it. 

The attorneys who were present at the initial hearing informed Judge Palazuelos that should a trial occur, it is expected to last for a duration of three weeks.  Meanwhile, the singer and defendants in the case are hoping that mediation will resolve the issue and a settlement can be reached so that no one has to wait the extended length of time required for the case to be litigated.