The granddaughter of the man who created the Gucci luxury brand wants to be present when her own daughter testifies in a deposition regarding alleged sexual abuse by her stepfather, despite the younger woman's opposition to her mother being in the same room at the time she is questioned.
Alexandra Zarini is suing her mother, Patricia Gucci -- the granddaughter of Guccio Gucci, and daughter of Aldo Gucci -- in Los Angeles Superior Court. Patricia Gucci, now 61, was born during Aldo Gucci's extramarital affair with Bruna Palombo, who is a co-defendant in the case along with Zarini's stepfather, Joseph Ruffalo. A judge previously stayed the part of Zarini's case against Palombo, who is in her 80s and lives in Italy, while she appeals his decision not to quash the summons in the suit.
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Patricia Gucci was married to Ruffalo, a former music manager, from 1993 to 2008. They lived together in Los Angeles from 1992 to 1998 and she left him after her daughter told her he was sexually abusing her.
"Defendants Gucci and Palombo, as plaintiff's mother and grandmother, respectively, not only failed to protect plaintiff from Ruffalo's assaults, but fostered the environment and impunity defendant Ruffalo needed to sexually assault plaintiff," according to the suit filed in September 2020, which also alleges sexual battery, gender violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Patricia Gucci compounded her daughter's suffering by sexualizing her for Ruffalo's benefit and also by physically, mentally and emotionally abusing Zarini, the suit alleges.
On Thursday, Ruffalo's lawyer filed court papers with Judge Michael Small lending support to a motion by Patricia Gucci to be permitted to be present when her daughter is deposed, despite the opposition of Zarini's attorneys. In their court papers, Patricia Gucci's lawyers maintain that their client, who lives in Europe and owns a small business, has often changed her flight plans in order to be present in the room when her daughter is deposed and that Gucci will not agree to having to view the session virtually.
One of Zarini's lawyers responded that her office will be seeking a "disability accommodation request" for their client's depositon, but no basis for the request was offered, according to the court papers of Patricia Gucci's attorneys, who also are asking that Zarini be ordered to compensate them for the $20,640 they spent preparing their motion.
Patricia Gucci's lawyers maintained in their earlier court papers that Ruffalo, not their client, and his alleged abuses were the cause of Zarini's injuries, not her mother, and that therefore, the plaintiff could not defeat the statute of limitations allowing her to bring her claims from years earlier under a special statute.
Patricia Gucci's lawyers also maintained in their court papers that she was not negligent because she did not know Ruffalo was allegedly abusing Zarini until her daughter reached age 22 and disclosed what had happened.
"Once Ms. Zarini disclosed the abuse, Ms. Gucci was devastated," Patricia Gucci's lawyers stated in their court papers. "She immediately separated from and divorced Mr. Ruffalo and he never again sexually abused Ms. Zarini. She also set about healing her family through counseling."
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