A company named PDS Adjustment sued Manning in January, alleging she failed to pay them 20% of an insurance payout she received for water damage at her $1.3 million Palm Springs property. The agreement entitled the company to that percentage, but Manning never paid up, the suit claims.
The lawsuit demands $37,140 in damages, a relatively modest sum, but one that signals ongoing financial entanglements as the Orange Is the New Black star navigates a tumultuous year.
On March 30, a video was published of Manning and Hartman in a vicious argument inside a Palm Springs recording studio. In the footage, Manning screams, “Look what you’ve done to my f***ing studio!” and threatens to call the police. Hartman responds, “Call the police. I’ll show them you just attacked me.” The clip shows Manning kicking an object toward Hartman before lunging at her as the recording cuts off.
Manning addressed the incident on Instagram the following day. “I know that violence is never, ever, ever OK,” she said, but insisted there was context the video missed. She claimed Hartman and another person vandalized her car, smashing the windshield and slashing the tires, and alleged Hartman had been “living in my office because she’s homeless.”
The fight is not their first. In 2012, Manning was arrested in New York for allegedly punching, kicking, and choking Hartman. Charges were later dropped. In 2016, Hartman filed for a restraining order, describing a harrowing scene: Manning allegedly yelled, “Pick a knife. I’m wearing a white shirt. There will be a lot of blood. You will be famous for killing Taryn Manning.” That restraining order was denied.
Hartman has pushed back on Manning’s version of events, calling her claims “more lies” intended to “distract from her real problem”, alleging addiction and untreated mental health struggles.
The debt lawsuit remains unresolved. The viral fight has reignited public scrutiny of a toxic relationship that has stretched across 18 years. For Manning, the question is whether she can separate herself from the chaos, or whether both her finances and her reputation will continue to unravel.
