Bryan Singer’s Lawyer Blasts Accusers’ Attorney

Bryan Singer’s lawyer, Marty Singer (no relation) condemned his accusers’ attorney, Jeff Herman, on Wednesday as a liar and publicity hound driven by avarice, demanding in a letter obtained by The Hollywood Reporter that he dismiss and not refile lawsuits against Bryan Singer and warning of future sanctions and an action for malicious prosecution. The letter slams the lawsuits as “frivolous,” “meritless,” inaccurate, and legally deficient.

“You seek to preen for the media in an effort to solicit new clients, ultimately looking for a payday for yourself,” said Marty Singer’s letter. “You have now resorted to lying to the public concerning your actions, including your false statements to the media this week to the effect that our client has refused to accept service of your earlier lawsuit on behalf of Michael Egan.”

STORY: Bryan Singer Sex Abuse Case: The Troubling History Behind the Accusations

Egan is the plaintiff -- and Herman the plaintiff’s lawyer -- in suits filed in Hawaii against Bryan Singer, Gary Goddard, Garth Ancier and David Neuman. Herman is again the lawyer, and an anonymous U.K. actor denominated “John Doe 117” the plaintiff in a separate suit filed Saturday in Los Angeles against Bryan Singer and Goddard. The latter suit was closed Tuesday on administrative grounds -- it had been filed electronically rather than manually as required -- but can be refilled.

Marty Singer’s letter warned against refilling in dire terms: “On behalf of Mr. Singer, I am hereby demanding that you immediately dismiss, with prejudice, the Egan lawsuit and refrain from re-filing the ‘John Doe’ lawsuit that you filed against him. If you fail to do so, then you will be exposed to significant liability.”

It was not possible to reach Herman for comment after midnight Wednesday night / Thursday morning. However, he has previously said that he would not back down. “I’m not going to be bullied,” he said. “And my clients are not going to be bullied. They’re going to be protected.”

STORY: Lawyer for New Bryan Singer Accuser Shows Photos, Says He Has Physical Evidence

Referring to Herman’s alleged false statements regarding service of the lawsuits, the letter added, “Perhaps we should not be surprised that you have made such gross misrepresentations given your suspension by the Florida Bar for engaging in conduct involving dishonesty and deceit.”

That’s a reference to an eighteen-month suspension imposed by the Florida Supreme Court in 2009 for actions adverse to a client (investing in and controlling a business competitor of the client) and “engage(ing) in conduct involving dishonesty (or) deceit” (failing to tell the client he had done so).

The letter also criticized Herman for suing Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash after the statute of limitations had expired, and said “You have demonstrated a pattern of filing legally deficient lawsuits. Your repeated failure to properly investigate claims before rushing to the courthouse and then hosting press conferences is inexcusable and rises to the level of sanctionable conduct.”

The letter also complains that Herman filed the Hawaii suits without first contacting Marty Singer to discuss them and determine whether there was evidence -- as Marty Singer says there is -- that Bryan Singer was not in Hawaii at the time of the alleged sex parties.

Instead of fully investigating the facts, says the letter, “You only care about seeking publicity for yourself and attempting to revive your career after being so publicly and embarrassingly suspended from practice.”

AUDIO: Bryan Singer Sex Abuse Suit: Bret Easton Ellis Says He Dated Two People Who 'Went Through World of Underage Parties'

The “John Doe 117” suit is, says the letter, “replete with absurd factual inaccuracies” and also alleges conduct that is not actionable, because the age of consent in the U.K. is 16. The lawsuit argues that the California age of consent, 18, should apply because Singer and Goddard allegedly formulated their sexual plans regarding the U.K. teen while in California. In addition, the federal age, also 18, assertedly applies to travel from the U.S. for sexual purposes.

Herman said at a press conference Monday, where he displayed evidence regarding the “John Doe 117” suit, that he expected to file additional Hollywood teen sex suits, involving both male and female plaintiffs and not necessarily involving the same defendants as the current suits.

Email: jh@jhandel.com

Twitter: @jhandel

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Lawyer for Jackson doctor says key tactic dropped (AP)

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Ap Special Correspondent – Sat Oct 15, 3:56 am ET

LOS ANGELES – Dr. Conrad Murray's attorney says he knew months before the physician's trial that a theory that Michael Jackson drank a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol would have to be abandoned.

Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan made the statement Friday without the jury present.

Murray, who was not in court for the hearing, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the June 2009 death of the superstar from an overdose of propofol.

The idea of Jackson orally giving himself the fatal dose was long touted by defense attorneys as a centerpiece of their case. Documents had been filed and arguments heard about studies on the issue.

The attorneys have even referred to a fruit juice jar found on Jackson's bedside table, suggesting he had taken the drug with juice.

Flanagan initially dropped the bombshell Wednesday that the defense was abandoning the strategy.

"We are not going to assert at any point in this trial that Michael Jackson at any time orally ingested propofol," said Flanagan, who revealed he had commissioned a study that concluded propofol would not be absorbed into the body when ingested.

But he did not say when the study had been done.

Prosecutors and the judge appeared stunned at the announcement

At Friday's hearing, on a day when testimony was not heard, Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the judge, "We are dealing with an ever-changing defense. It was just a couple of days ago they abandoned oral propofol."

"Oh, your honor, that is not correct," Flanagan said.

"No?' Walgren asked incredulously.

"We abandoned oral propofol months ago," said Flanagan, saying they were swayed by a report from the leading expert on the drug, who is expected to testify for the prosecution next week.

He said Dr. Steven Shafer had questioned "the bioavailability of oral propofol," meaning whether it would be absorbed into the body if swallowed.

Flanagan said the defense decided to have its own study conducted and, "We determined back in May that bioavailability of oral propofol was not feasible."

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said he had never been advised in advance that the theory would be dropped. He said he would not be dealing with Walgren's claims of an ever-changing defense.

"I don't have to go there," he said. "It is what it is right now."

Flanagan's disclosure offered a backstage look at possible defense gamesmanship in leading prosecutors to prepare to answer a defense theory that would never be presented.

A defense attorney not involved in the case said it is not an ethical or legal obligation of the defense to keep the prosecution posted on its strategies.

"I don't personally see a violation," said attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. "You're supposed to operate in good faith, but you don't have to tell them every little strategy you intend to employ ... . Maybe this defense team was debating whether to use the issue up to the end."

In opening statements, defense attorney Edward Chernoff told the jury he would allege that Jackson self-administered drugs but did not specifically mention oral ingestion of propofol.

In other developments, the prosecution said its last witness will be Shafer and his testimony could take a day. The defense said it would call 15 witnesses including police officers, experts and some character witnesses. Attorney Nareg Gourjian estimated that would consume the rest of next week.

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APNewsBreak: Gibson's ex files appeal over lawyer (AP)

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – Wed Jun 8, 10:30 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend has asked an appeals court to disqualify the Oscar winner's attorneys handling a bitter custody dispute because she consulted with one of their partners in a paternity dispute with another actor.

Attorneys for Oksana Grigorieva asked the California 2nd District Court of Appeal to intervene in the case on Monday. They sought to either disqualify Gibson's attorneys or require a judge hearing the case to review records of the Russian musician's dealings with the firm.

Grigorieva met with a partner in the firm of Kolodny and Anteau in 2008 at Gibson's suggestion, while she was dealing with custody issues involving her son with British actor Timothy Dalton, according to court filings.

The appeal said Gibson's attorneys sought records of the dispute with Dalton, including emails, text messages and other correspondence between the former couple. Dalton played James Bond in two films in the late 1980s.

Stephen Kolodny, one of the Gibson's attorneys handling his dispute with Grigorieva over their infant daughter, said in an email that he would not comment on Grigorieva's appeal.

His partner, Ronald Anteau, has not appeared in the case, but Grigorieva's filing named her discussion with him as important to her current fight with Gibson.

"The matters discussed with Mr. Anteau concerned the same subject matter that has been inquired into in the present case by Stephen Kolodny both in open court and at deposition," her filing said.

Grigorieva asked the court to issue a ruling before a key hearing this month.

Last month, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon ruled that Grigorieva waited too long to raise the issue of a potential conflict with Kolodny's representation of Gibson. She claimed she did not make the connection between her consultation with Anteau and Gibson's attorneys until recently.

Grigorieva wants the appellate court to require the judge to review Anteau's notes of his meeting with her and reconsider the ruling or disqualify Kolodny and Anteau's firm outright.

Gibson and Grigorieva's custody case is by law confidential, as would be any case she had involving Dalton. Her efforts to disqualify Gibson's attorneys have been heard in open court.

The case has spanned 65 hearings and the judge had issued more than 100 rulings. There were thousands of pages of pleadings in the case, and most of Gibson's filings were handled by Kolodny's firm, Gordon said.

Grigorieva's attorney Daniel Horowitz has said his client is dropping domestic violence allegations from the case and probably won't introduce racist and sexist rants made by the "Braveheart" star that were posted by the celebrity website RadarOnline.com.

That announcement nearly two months was made after Gibson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor domestic violence in a case involving a January 2010 fight. The actor was sentenced to serve 16 hours of community service, which he has performed in recent days with Mending Kids International in Guatemala.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/celebritydocket

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