Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo want a judge to erase the punitive-damage and future-medical tabs—totaling up to $4M—from a decorator who says she fell off a ladder at their $52M Montecito mansion and ended up in a two-day coma.
Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo are not writing a blank check. On 20 January 2026 the pair filed a surgical motion to strip every dollar of punitive damages and projected future medical costs from the lawsuit brought by their former interior plant stylist, Shana Kallen.
The Incident: March 2023 on the Roof
Kallen says she was positioning foliage on an exterior wall when the ladder she descended “shifted,” sending her head-first onto concrete. The resulting traumatic brain injury, confirmed by People, put her in a 48-hour coma and required an emergency craniectomy.
The Numbers Kallen Wants
- General damages: “in excess of $25,000”
- Future medical care: $3–4 million
- Punitive damages: unstated ceiling, but California allows up to 9× compensatory
Why the Couple Say the Math Is Phony
Their 12-page motion labels the punitive plea “boilerplate allegations” that never cross the statutory threshold of malice, fraud or oppression. They classify the fall as, at worst, passive negligence—a category that caps exposure to compensatory damages only.
On the $3–4 million medical projection, Levine’s counsel cites Civil Code § 3333.1: future healthcare must be proven to a “reasonable probability,” not a wish-list spreadsheet. The filing argues Kallen’s December 2025 amended complaint offers zero physician declarations or life-care-plan numbers to justify the headline-grabbing span.
What Kallen Alleges She Lost
Court papers detail permanent hearing loss requiring dual hearing-aids, prism glasses for eyesight “diminishment,” suspension of her driver’s license, and a shortened life expectancy. The decorator contends the couple ignored the ladder’s stability and proceeded with “reckless disregard.”
The Real-Estate Footnote
The $52 million estate where the fall occurred sold in October 2025 for $60 million after a summer listing at $65 million. Property records place the transaction squarely between the first and second amended complaints—timing the defense may use to question why the claim escalated only after the profitable flip.
What Happens Next
A Santa Barbara Superior Court judge will rule on the motion to strike before discovery deep-dives into medical files and financials. If the punitive and future-medical counts fall, Kallen’s negotiable ceiling drops to general damages—still a potential seven-figure payout, but nowhere near the $4 million headline.
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