Soul singer Anita Baker has offered a response to the warrant issued for her arrest last week after a lawyer for Ray A. Smith Painting & Decorating claimed that she owes the Grosse Pointe contracting company $15,000 for renovations to her Michigan home. Baker, who learned of the warrant at the same time that fans did, responded immediately via Twitter:
Her attorney Jamal Hamood reportedly planned to file a motion to cancel the warrant on the grounds that his client was never served papers or otherwise notified of the suit. A recent report from TMZ provides commentary from the r&b diva and details the ongoing dispute between Baker and Ray A. Smith Painting & Decorating:
Anita tells TMZ ... she hired Ray Smith Painting and Decorating in 2009 to repair the outside of her home which was damaged by a storm. The cost of the job was $75,000 ... she paid $60K up front.Anita says the guy didn't even finish the job and what he did do sucked so bad ... she got up on a ladder and did the spackling herself.
The singer says the contractor had the nerve to file suit for the $15K balance ... problem was, she says she was in the dark because she never got served with legal papers.
When Anita was a no-show in court, the judge entered a default judgment. She says still had no idea a case had even been filed.
...Anita tells us she's in shock, saying, "I've never been in trouble with the law. I'm terrified."
Anita's lawyer says he's going to court next week to get the warrant lifted and the default judgment set aside.
Anita tells us, as far as she's concerned, "There's no justice in the justice system."
Read the full response via TMZ.
