Kim Kardashian was sued by a New York man named Ivan Cantu after she mistakenly posted his photo instead of a photo of a death row inmate who shares the same name. Kardashian had shared the image while advocating for the incarcerated Cantu’s case, and deleted it as soon as she realized the mistake. The private New York resident who was actually pictured filed suit anyway, seeking damages for the harm he said the post caused him. Kim denied any wrongdoing throughout the case.

How did the court rule

The court dismissed all of Cantu’s claims against Kardashian and awarded her $167,000 in legal fees. Cantu pushed back on that amount, arguing that Kardashian, as a billionaire, did not need the money and that paying it would financially ruin him. The judge was not persuaded and denied his request to reconsider the fee award, prompting Cantu to file an appeal.

Why did Kim Kardashian waive the fees

Rather than continue defending the fee award through the appeals process, Kardashian agreed to waive the $167,000 entirely. A legal representative for Kim said the lawsuit should never have been filed in the first place, noting that the court had already agreed and ordered Cantu to cover her legal costs before she chose to let that judgment go. With the fees waived, Cantu dropped his appeal and dismissed his case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

What this decision reflects

Kardashian was not obligated to waive the award. The court had sided with her at every stage of the case, upheld the fee amount when challenged, and allowed the appeal process to proceed before Cantu ultimately withdrew it. Choosing not to collect money a court had already confirmed she was owed was entirely her call.

The decision also lines up with the public role Kardashian has built for herself around criminal justice advocacy in recent years, particularly her work pushing for reconsideration of death row cases. The mistaken photo that started the dispute was corrected quickly, and the court found no liability tied to it. What Kim chose to do afterward was a separate decision made entirely on her own terms.