A Maine jury ruled in favor of a reality TV star late Tuesday, finding that her ex-husband’s father interfered with the sale of her Maine camp.
Jenni Farley, known as JWoww, won a lawsuit against her ex-husband’s father, Roger Mathews Jr. She sued her former father-in-law in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor for allegedly interfering with a contract and breaching his fiduciary duty as the trustee of the Mathews Family Round Pond Revocable Trust.
A jury found that Mathews interfered with Farley’s attempt to sell her camp and that he acted “with malice” toward Farley. The jury decided Mathews did not breach his fiduciary duty to Farley.
The verdict wraps up a two-day trial over the sale of a Maine camp. The case was unusual because property disputes rarely reach a federal jury trial, particularly not ones involving a reality TV star.
Farley, a New Jersey resident, rose to fame in the late 2000s as a member of the MTV reality show “Jersey Shore.” She married Roger Mathews III in 2015, and the couple built a camp on Round Pond in Steuben before divorcing in 2019.
Attorneys for Farley and Mathews did not respond to requests for comment.
The jury awarded Farley $47,660.89 for compensatory and punitive damages.
During the trial, Farley described her attempt to sell her $1 million camp, which can only be sold to people who are family members of the trust. In 2024 she tried to sell it to Jennifer Mathews, a lineal descendant of the trust.
Jennifer Mathews and her husband Joshua Goston wanted to buy the house. She is the great niece of Roger Mathews. When the elder Mathews learned of the attempted sale he said it wasn’t allowed under the terms of the trust and threatened to sue, according to court testimony.
Shortly before the couple was supposed to move in, Mathews dragged dead birch trees across the driveway and then parked a tractor behind them. He blocked the other driveway with his pickup truck.
Mathews testified that he blocked the driveway to benefit the couple, that way they wouldn’t unload furniture and then learn they weren’t allowed to buy the house.
The house was still accessible to people if they wanted to walk up, they just couldn’t drive, Roger Mathews testified. He said he cares about Jennifer Mathews and didn’t want her to needlessly go through the expense of moving.
“I felt like he’s trying to start a war we want no part in,” Jennifer Mathews said. “I was extremely intimidated by this physical barrier.”
The couple and Mathews were supposed to meet to talk about the sale but once the blockades were put into place, the couple decided they could not buy the house, Jennifer Mathews testified.
Roger Mathews wanted the house for his grandchildren one day, he testified. After Farley and Roger Mathews III divorced, the Maine camp was put into a trust for their kids, with Farley administering it until they turn 18.
At one point the couple told Roger Mathews he would have to move his belongings out of the garage but it wasn’t a big rush. Mathews described needing to unlock Farley’s garage and move his boat out of the way so Farley could access her belongings in her property.
Roger Mathews was supposed to have a meeting with the couple when they were scheduled to move in, but once he blocked the driveway that fell apart, Jennifer Mathews’ husband, Goston said.
“That was the final decision for us right there,” Goston said. “[Mathews] was following through on his threats.”
The couple didn’t expect it to be such a big issue, and Goston said they wouldn’t have given Farley 80% of their savings to make the initial payment for the house. A payment of $20,000 was made to Farley, with the total cost of the house with interest expected to be about $540,000.