Howard Stern Lawsuit: Kuhn’s Allegations and Motion to Dismiss

The current Howard Stern lawsuit was filed in April 2026 by Leslie Kuhn, the radio host’s former executive assistant, who accuses Howard and Beth Stern of running a hostile work environment and asks a New York court to void two nondisclosure agreements she says are fraudulent. Stern’s attorneys have moved to dismiss, calling the case a “shakedown” and presenting emails they say show Kuhn signed the very agreements she now denies signing. The motion is pending before the New York County Supreme Court.

Who Leslie Kuhn Is

Kuhn was hired in September 2022 as an office manager for SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show.¹ In late 2023 she was moved onto the payroll of One Twelve Inc., Stern’s production company, and became his executive assistant in January 2024. By May 2024, at the Sterns’ request, she had relocated to their 20,000-square-foot Southampton mansion, where her duties expanded to managing household staff, scheduling, payroll, and Beth Stern’s on-site cat rescue and fostering operations.²

In December 2025 she received a letter from One Twelve confirming a raise to $265,000 a year and an $80,000 bonus for 2026.² About two months later, in February 2026, One Twelve’s Vice President of Finance, Mark D. Garten, told her she was being terminated, citing “downsizing or the elimination of a position” and “misconduct of a nature that would be detrimental to one’s reputation.”¹

Kuhn filed her complaint on April 5, 2026, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, naming Howard Stern, Beth Ostrosky Stern, One Twelve Inc., and The Howard Stern Production Company as defendants.³

What Kuhn Alleges

The complaint says the stated reasons for the firing were “manufactured by the Defendants in general and Beth Stern in particular.”¹ Kuhn describes a workplace under “immense pressures” from what she calls “irresponsible and untenable animal rescue and fostering operations occurring on-site” — a reference to Beth Stern’s nonprofit, Beth’s Furry Friends.⁴ She also alleges “massively disorganized and questionable business operations and accounting practices” in the household and the rescue.⁵ The complaint alleges Kuhn witnessed “a much darker side” to Beth’s Furry Friends, though it does not describe specific conduct beyond the general accounting and disorganization claims.⁶

The core of the suit is Kuhn’s challenge to two documents: a confidentiality agreement dated around May 2022 and a separate nondisclosure agreement dated around May 2025.⁵ She says she never actually signed either one. According to the complaint, the 2022 confidentiality agreement was “fabricated” and her purported signature was simply her typewritten name in the same font used elsewhere in the document.¹ She says no one ever presented the 2025 NDA to her for signature at all.²

Kuhn also argues the agreements are “one-sided and non-mutual,” restricting her from discussing the Sterns’ daily habits, food preferences, travel, political affiliations, and property locations while letting the couple “speak freely about Kuhn with impunity.”⁷ Her attorney, John J. Leonard, has argued the defendants used the agreements “to leverage Leslie Kuhn into silence and deprive her of the right to defend herself” against reputational accusations.¹

What Kuhn Is Actually Seeking

Despite headlines pegging the case at $2.5 million, Kuhn is not asking for compensatory damages. Her complaint is a declaratory judgment action, meaning she wants the court to rule that the confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements are void and unenforceable so she can, in her words, exercise her “right to speak freely.”⁵ The $2.5 million figure appears in an amended complaint filed April 12, 2026, as a valuation required by the New York Supreme Court’s Commercial Division, which needs cases to identify an intended benefit of at least $500,000 to qualify.⁸ She is also asking for reimbursement of legal costs.⁶

Stern’s Response and Motion To Dismiss

On April 29, 2026, Stern’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss, calling the lawsuit a “thinly veiled attempted shakedown” built on “a series of bald-faced lies.”⁹ The defendants deny the hostile work environment claims and say Kuhn knowingly signed both the 2022 confidentiality agreement and the 2025 NDA.

The motion points to specific evidence. According to the filing, a 2022 exchange shows Kuhn sending a signed copy of the confidentiality agreement to the show’s production manager, and a 2025 email from Kuhn allegedly reads, “Signed NDA attached.”¹⁰ Stern’s team argues that evidence “demonstrably and incontrovertibly” disproves her sworn claim that she never signed the documents.¹¹

The defendants also want the court to sanction Kuhn and her attorney under New York court rules for filing what they call a frivolous, bad-faith lawsuit. Their memorandum alleges Kuhn made “multiple material false factual statements” in a verified complaint and that the hostile work environment allegations are “gratuitous” claims added to generate negative publicity. The filing further asserts that before Kuhn sued, the defendants had already agreed in writing not to enforce the 2022 confidentiality agreement, an admission they say Kuhn’s complaint left out.¹² Court documents also indicate Stern had told Kuhn in writing that he had “no plans to discuss her firing” and would provide neutral references.¹³

Stern’s attorney, Ilene Farkas, said in a public statement that the Sterns would “not play this out in public” and are “entitled to enforce non-disclosure agreements signed by employees who enter their home and their private life.”¹⁰

Where the Case Stands

As of late April 2026, the motion to dismiss had not been decided. Kuhn’s attorney told Page Six his side is in “vigorous opposition” to the motion and that the defense’s introduction of additional NDAs “will only expand litigation, not curtail it.”¹⁴ If the court grants the motion, the confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements remain in effect and Kuhn stays barred from publicly discussing Stern’s personal affairs, household operations, and family life.¹⁰

1
People. Howard and Beth Stern Sued by Former Personal Assistant
2
The Independent. Howard Stern Leslie Kuhn Sirius XM Lawsuit
3
USA Today. Howard Stern Lawsuit Assistant Leslie Kuhn
4
Entertainment Weekly. Howard Stern and Wife Sued, Former Assistant Claims They Created Hostile Work Environment
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Entertainment Weekly. Howard Stern Ex-Assistant Sues for Right to Speak Freely via Lawsuit
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Realtor.com. Howard Stern Beth Assistant Lawsuit Hamptons Home Hostile
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Page Six. Howard Stern’s Bizarre Rules for Staff Revealed in Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
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AOL. Howard Stern’s Former Assistant Seeks Right to Speak Freely
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People. Howard Stern Responds to Former Assistant’s Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit
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Hollywood Reporter. Howard Stern Dismiss Ex-Assistant Lawsuit Shakedown
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Entertainment Weekly. Howard Stern Addresses Ex-Assistant Lawsuit
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Daily Voice. Kuhn v. Howard A. Stern et al., Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Dismiss
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Yahoo Entertainment. SiriusXM Host Howard Stern Responds
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Page Six. Howard Stern Finally Reacts to Ex-Assistant Demanding Staggering Sum in Sham Lawsuit