Jennifer Lopez Looses $20 M Extortion Lawsuit Against Her Former Driver, Judge Tosses Out Her Counter Suit

Latino-pop-R&B Singer Jennifer Lopez will be down by $20 million as her counter suit against her former driver, Hakob Manoukian was tossed out by L.A. Superior Court judge, Dec. 26.

"Los Angeles Superior Court Justice Joseph Kalin granted the chauffeur's motion to strike J.Lo's cross-complaint at a hearing on Dec. 21," according to the minutes in E! News's Possession, E! News reported.

Manoukian, who was working for Lopez since 2005, filed a lawsuit against her and her manager Benny Medina in April 2012 alleging wrongful termination and breach of contract.

Lopez filed a counter suit at the driver in August. She alleged that Manoukian was extorting her, demanding  $2.8 million and had threatened to reveal all her secrets he had overheard when he was working with Lopez, Los Angeles Times reported.

The driver's case is still pending. He alleges that Medina humiliated him in public and then in September 2011, he was demoted to "L.A. driver." He was hired as the head of her transportation and security. As a part of a deal while hiring him, they had agreed to pay the driver a basic pay of   $72,000 a year and along with that, "production pay" that would be $200,000 annually. But he was not paid the production pay in various instances before his demotion. The court papers filed by him also allege that he was made to quit as the working conditions were "intolerable or aggravated".

Manoukian was not allowed breaks for lunch or overtime pay. He is seeking damages - general and compensatory, overtime pay and legal fee.

Medina, however, had earlier told TMZ that Manoukian was just another "disgruntled employee who chose to quit." Manoukian's case might be heard sometime May 2013.