AriZona Iced Tea co-founder allegedly gifts personal assistant a home and car. Years later, he’s kicking her and her family out
The promise was made verbally.
Fayssanya Pratt worked as a personal assistant to billionaire and co-founder of the popular beverage brand AriZona Iced Tea, John Ferolito, for 23 years. After years of working for him, Ferolito allegedly gifted Pratt a house after her home was damaged. Now, the two are in a legal battle, with Ferolito kicking Pratt and her family out of the home, while the former assistant claims an oral agreement declaring her ownership of the home was made.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Ferolito had been a generous employer. He reportedly funded Pratt’s son’s braces, gifted her a brand-new Chevrolet Tahoe, and added $160,000 to an investment account he opened for Pratt and her children. In 2017, after a flood damaged her home, Pratt approached Ferolito to request help buying a new house.
Pratt claimed she was given an initial budget of $400,000 to search for a house and was promised the property deed afterward. Since 2018, Pratt and her three children have lived in a $493,736 home in Coral Springs, Florida, with her shouldering the property taxes, repairs, and maintenance. She claimed that she has invested nearly $100,000 in the home since moving in.
Ferolito’s decision was allegedly influenced by trust CEO
Pratt said she and Ferolito didn’t have issues during her employment. But in 2022, the CEO of Ferolito’s trust, Ron Cohen, whom she accused of assault and sexual harassment, allegedly warned the billionaire about Pratt’s exploitation of Ferolito’s generosity and claimed she was verbally hostile. By September, Pratt was fired.
In 2023, Ferolito attempted to evict the family from the home, which escalated into a legal battle relying on witness statements and other evidence that may help with their respective arguments, as there was no written agreement. Ferolito argued that the home was an investment he made, and that Pratt living there was contingent on her continued employment. He also argued that Pratt’s payment of property taxes and maintenance served as her rent as a tenant.
Pratt claimed that because she has lived in the house for years and financially invested in it, the oral agreement to the property deed is legally recognized under promissory estoppel. Video evidence alleging that Ferolito’s assistant, Kelly Aldrich, confirmed Ferolito’s intent to sign away the deed was submitted. Now, Pratt is seeking $750,000 in compensatory damages for loss and emotional distress.
Pratt says AriZona Iced Tea co-founder does things on a whim
Pratt said her weekly severance wages of $1,400 were also cut, which she claimed left her “blindsided.” “I never signed anything with him. He’s a billionaire. He made all kinds of deals and purchases on a whim, often in cash,” Pratt told the outlet. “If he tells you he’s going to do something, he just did it, and that’s how he operated with me for twenty-something years.”
According to Pratt, she was also given an NDA during the dispute, which included a promise that she would not sue people affiliated with the Ferolito trust. However, Pratt alleged that the NDA was to prevent her from making any sexual harassment claims against Cohen.
“You disrupt my whole life, try to change the agreement to make me buy a house you already told me is mine?” Pratt said. “Now you send an NDA and want to stop me from suing you and take everything I have? No way.”
For now, the homeownership dispute is still underway, with a virtual hearing scheduled for Nov. 23 before Judge Jeffrey Levenson. Pratt and her children are reportedly still residing in the Coral Springs home during the legal battle.
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