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American Apparel: Fashion Mogul "Fakes" Arbitration in Harassment Case |
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Thursday, 30 October 2008 |
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Fashion Mogul "Fakes" Arbitration in Harassment Case Edited by Matthew Heller with Courthouse News Service
The arbitration of a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit against fashion mogul Dov Charney was in fact part of an elaborate subterfuge designed to misrepresent that he had won the case, On Point has learned.
An unpublished decision of California's 2nd District Court of Appeal discloses the terms of a confidential settlement agreement that would have allowed Charney, CEO of American Apparel (AMEX: APP), to proclaim an arbitrator had ruled in his favor –- while concealing from the public that he had agreed to settle former employee Mary Nelson's case for $1.3 million.
A press release was prepared to announce Charney's absolution, but the settlement unraveled after an attorney for Nelson did not attend the “sham” arbitration. “I am pleased that we have been able to bring clarity to the role of the First Amendment in the American workplace,” the release quoted Charney as saying.
“[T]he proposed press release is materially misleading -- among other things, no real arbitration of a dispute occurred and plaintiff received $1.3 million in compensation,” the appeals court noted.
Charney denied responsibility for the phony arbitration, saying it was the idea of a plaintiff's attorney who admitted his client had no case. more
Nelson, who worked as an independent contractor in the American Apparel sales department, alleged in her suit that Charney conducted a “reign of sexual terror” at the company, parading around the workplace in his underwear and even showing up for one meeting at his home in a garment described as a “cock sock.”
Amid nationwide publicity, the case was scheduled for jury selection Jan. 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court. But lawyers spent the day thrashing out a settlement in which Charney agreed to pay Nelson $1.3 million by Feb. 7 and she agreed to a “confidential arbitration.”
On Jan. 24, American Apparel attorney Adam Levin announced that the case would be decided by arbitration -- thus avoiding the publicity of a trial -- with both sides to be bound by the decision of the arbitrator or private judge they selected. He said nothing about any settlement.
The “confidential arbitration” was in fact a charade. One of Nelson's attorneys, the 2nd District said, later described it as “a 'fake arbitration' designed to produce a press release calculated to blunt negative media attention.”
According to the settlement agreement, the arbitrator would be chosen only by the defense, would be presented with a stipulated record of facts, and would decide that Nelson “was not subjected to unlawful sexual harassment.” Following the filing of the arbitrator's “decision,” American Apparel would be allowed to issue the press release.
Nelson did not, however, receive her payment by the Feb. 7 deadline. At a hearing that day, American Apparel said plaintiff's counsel Keith A. Fink did not show up for the “arbitration” before a retired judge in San Francisco and, as a result, the judge was unable to rule, leaving the case officially unsettled.
Since then, the two sides have been litigating whether Nelson breached her obligation under the settlement to participate in the arbitration and violated confidentiality by objecting to the agreement being filed under seal. In its opinion, the 2nd District ordered that dispute into arbitration -– this time, presumably, a real one.
The irony here is that Charney could have kept things forever under wraps if he had simply agreed to a routine confidential settlement. By making an extraordinary attempt to manipulate the media, he has ended up getting the very publicity he sought to avoid.
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Monday, 27 October 2008 |
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The Johnny Rotten-Britney Spears Court Connection by Josh Grossberg Johnny Rotten is playing the Britney Spears card.
Taking a page from the pop princess' legal playbook, an attorney for the Sex Pistols singer is asking a Los Angeles judge to keep a videotaped deposition sealed to avoid getting leaked.
Rotten (real name: John Lydon) is being sued for allegedly striking a woman in a dispute over a hotel room.
"Even though a rock star, Mr. Lydon still has privacy rights," attorney Stephen Caine argues in his motion, filed Friday. "Release of the videotape would serve absolutely no public interest and could only serve to embarrass Mr. Lydon publicly."
Caine cites as precedent Britney Spears' successful battle to suppress her own depo in her child custody case with Kevin Federline, which was resolved several months ago. Other stars, such as Lindsay Lohan and Keanu Reeves, have made similar requests.
Caine predicts that if the tape isn't kept under lock and key, it would "find its way to the Internet unless a meaningful barrier is in place."
Keith A. Fink, the attorney for plaintiff Roxanne Davis, is trying to fight the motion, saying in his court response that "public ranting and lewd behavior" on Rotten's part is already floating around the Web, including a YouTube video of the "Anarchy in the U.K." purveyor hurling 87 obscenities in less than a minute.
Lydon was supposed to sit for the deposition on Oct. 3, but it was scrapped after Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green decided to postpone until he had a decision on Rotten's request.
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'Girl Meets Cowboy': Fox Reality |
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Friday, 17 October 2008 |
 Former 'GIRL MEETS COWBOY' Production Assistant's Suit Sent To Arbitration
A former production assistant for the Women's Entertainment Television reality show "Girl Meets Cowboy" will have to take his sexual discrimination case against the cable show's producers before an arbitrator, a judge ruled today.
Nicholas Phillips filed the lawsuit June 19 in Los Angeles Superior Court against Pilgrim Films and Television Inc., alleging he was fired because he was gay. He alleged discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation, as well as wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis granted a defense motion to take the case out of the courtroom and into binding arbitration, according to the employment agreement Phillips had with Pilgrim Films.
Duffy-Lewis said she disagreed with Phillips' attorney, Sarah E. Hernandez, that the employment agreement containing the arbitration clause was "unconscionable," or one-sided in favor of the employer.
"It might be uncomfortable, but not unconscionable," Duffy-Lewis said.
Keith A. Fink, another of Phillips' attorneys, said the public is the loser as a result of the motion.
"What I find ironic is those media employers, who make their millions upon and champion an unfettered access to the public, force employees to sign arbitration agreements and preclude the press and public from hearing important issues their employees have," Fink said.
The lawyer said he believes the public will one day demand that the Legislature change the laws with respect to arbitration agreements.
"Girl Meets Cowboy," which ran in October and November on the WE cable channel, dealt with women living in urban areas dating cowboys. According to the lawsuit, Phillips was hired for the production assistant job in April 2007 by the supervising producer, Michael Brockhoff, who also is gay.
Phillips was a logical choice for the job because he lived in Tucson -- where the show was to be in production for a week -- and had previously worked with Brockhoff, his suit states.
Phillips says he was later promoted to head production assistant because of his good performance and agreed to drive a Pilgrim Films production truck to Los Angeles to await further location shooting, turning down a job offer he had in Tucson because he believed he had a permanent job with Pilgrim.
Phillips alleges he was fired in May 2007 because Pilgrim Films executives falsely thought he was having a sexual affair with Brockhoff.
After forcing Brockhoff to fire Phillips, Brockhoff was himself fired shortly thereafter, the suit states. Both were the only two gay employees at Pilgrim Films, according to the suit. As a result, Phillips was "left jobless and penniless in (Los Angeles) far from his home," his suit says. |
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Johnny Rotten: PerezRevenge.com |
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Wednesday, 08 October 2008 |
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Johnny Rotten stays true to his name…
by Liz @ PerezRevenge.com
On June 4th, 2008, Johnny Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, and Bodog Entertainment, as well as various related affiliates were sued by Roxane Davis. Ms. Davis is a talent agent hired by Bodog Entertainment (company) to book celebrity talent for guest appearances on the reality show “Bodog Battle of the Bands.”
Johnny Rotten was hired as a celebrity Judge for the same show. Within his contract were many stipulations, one being to have his companion/agent/gofer Jon “Rambo” Stevens maintain all control over Rotten’s travel, hotel accommodations and appearance scheduling. “Rambo” also had to travel with Rotten everywhere he went. They had to sit next to each other on planes and sleep next door to each other in hotel rooms.
Although, Roxane repeatedly explained how demeaning and difficult it was to work with the two men to her boss at Bodog, no one wanted to assist her or intervene on her behalf.
The situation became more and more difficult, and Roxane treated to a constant barrage of insults from Rotten and “Rambo,” a barrage of sexually harassing comments as well as derogatory insults.
On January 23rd, 2008, Johnny and “Rambo” were booked into side-by-side hotel rooms. Johnny was complaining that he wanted a door adjoining his room with “Rambo,” and Roxane was trying to appease Johnny by explaining that the hotel did not have those types of rooms but that she would try to book them into a different hotel for the next night with an adjoining door between.
Johnny started screaming at her, “fat f*cking c*nt,” “f*cking c*nt” and “f*cking whore,” and then he allegedly punched her in the face. “Rambo” violently grabbed both Roxane and Rotten and they became tangled in the hallway.
After Roxane told her superiors at BOdogs what happened, she was told to stay away from Rotten and then she was forced to scout strip clubs for guests and company supervisors. Days later, she was fired and asked to sign a non-disclosure waver before being granted lost wages.
Well, Friday, October 3, 2008, was the date for Rotten’s deposition by Keith Fink Esq., and surprisingly, for a man who has basked in controversy all these years, the former Sex Pistol, wasn’t keen on the media being granted access to his taped deposition. Evidently, an inside source explains “his bashfulness could have something to do with the fact that among the details filed in the 33-page lawsuit is a list of demands he reportedly made to the program’s production company, which would make even Jennifer Lopez blush.” Ms. Davis’s lawyer, Keith Fink, says “Rotten demanded a budget for his own stylist, that all plane seats and hotel rooms should be next to his assistant, Rambo, and “under no circumstances was anyone to touch Rotten’s hair”. This is an e-mail from Bodog to Roxane and her supervisor regarding Rotten’s bizarre fascination with his coiffed hair. Jan 17 2007 e-mail
So, no deposition, Keith says, “He refused unless I agreed not to give the video to youtube or any media outlet. I guess he is afraid he will put in his place by me as I won’t tolerate his insane, psychotic and irrational behavior. He probably also wants to keep quiet his bizarre fetish to have his coiffed hair in his inimitable style all the time. He got 2000 for his own stylist and the show had to agree to allow him to have plane seats and hotel rooms adjoining with his sidekick “Rambo.”
As Keith explains that “this is a prime example of putting profits over people fired, not Rotten but Davis and refusing to pay Davis her final wages unless she agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement that she wouldn’t tell anybody about what happened. When Davis refused to do this her supervisor on the show, said in an email “you fucked me.”
“Ensure that their seats on planes and their rooms are adjacent to one another on all locations. John’s got a budget for his own stylist. Under no circumstances is anyone to touch his hair “I’m not kidding.” |
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Wednesday, 08 October 2008 |
 Testimony In Hollywood Sexual Harassment Suit Continues
LOS ANGELES -- A former co-worker of a woman who sued the producers of the family film "The Prince and the Pauper" gave corroborating testimony Wednesday regarding some of her sexual harassment claims.
However, the witness, Christeon Gordon, downplayed the offensiveness of John Yang's alleged behavior toward the plaintiff, saying he did not believe the conduct of Mary Beth Porter's boss at Oak Films was meant to be offensive.
Porter, 30, sued Oak Films in Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2007, alleging harassment and discrimination based on sex, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination.
Yang, another supervisor, Steele Shannon -- who is representing himself - - and company co-owner Joseph Reilly also are named as defendants.
Defense attorneys noted in their opening statements that Gordon is a convicted sex offender who was fired from Oak Films in November 2006 after his employers learned of his criminal past.
Gordon is again in custody on an unrelated matter, so the trial had to be temporarily moved for his testimony from the County Courthouse to the Criminal Courts Building two blocks away.
According to Gordon, he saw Yang on separate occasions touch Porter on the buttocks and stomach in the workplace.
Addressing the alleged touching of the woman's buttocks, Gordon said, "I don't recall there was any overt sexual intent to it."
However, Gordon also testified he heard Yang on yet another occasion tell Porter that she was going to be his wife and that they were going to have sex.
"I don't think he said it to break her spirit," Gordon said.
The witness told jurors he recommended to Porter that she report Yang's conduct to Reilly if she considered it offensive.
Gordon also said he told management that he worried the sexual banter at the company could cause someone to sue. The fallout would be especially bad for him, considering his sex offense conviction, Gordon testified.
Asked by Porter's attorney, Sarah E. Hernandez, whether he thought Yang's alleged behavior toward her client would be considered offensive by a woman, Gordon replied, "It could have been. I'm not a woman so I don't have that perspective."
During cross-examination by Yang's lawyer, Brett M. Rubin, Gordon said Porter once said that he also touched her in the buttocks.
Gordon also testified that some of the information in a declaration he gave before the trial in support of Porter's claims was taken out of context. He said he did not write the declaration, but signed it when it was shown to him by Hernandez.
Porter worked for Oak Films from August through December 2006, according to her court papers. Her job was to sell investment units in "Prince" and other projects to help finance the films, she said.
"The Prince and the Pauper" was released on DVD in April and features 16-year-old twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse, stars of the Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody."
Another Oak Films project still in production, "The Kings of Appletown," also stars the Sprouse brothers. |
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Oak Films: City News Service |
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Wednesday, 08 October 2008 |
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Woman Testifies about Degrading Behavior While Working for `Prince and the Pauper' Makers
By BILL HETHERMAN
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A woman who worked for the film company that
produced the ``The Prince and the Pauper'' testified today she endured alleged
sexual innuendo, unwanted touching and lewd remarks from a supervisor at her
workplace.
Mary Beth Porter told a Los Angeles Superior Court jury that one of the
worst instances came when her direct supervisor, John Yang, allegedly told her
to lie on a desk so he could caress her stomach.
``This is a family film company, not a porn company,'' Porter said she
told herself. ``This was the last straw.''
Porter, 31, maintains that when she complained about her treatment to
the co-owner of Oak Films, Joseph Reilly, she got only temporary relief that
ended when Reilly went out of town. That's when Yang's harassment resumed, she
alleged.
Porter sued Oak Films in May 2007 on various causes of action, including
harassment and discrimination based on sex, intentional infliction of
emotional distress and wrongful termination. Porter's suit also names Yang,
another supervisor, Steele Shannon -- who is representing himself -- and
company co-owner Joseph Reilly as co-defendants.
In their opening statements, defense attorneys say the sexual misconduct
she complained of never happened. They also said she was a problem employee
who did not like to be told how she could improve her work performance -- in
direct contradiction to her claim she had a strong sales record.
Porter worked for Oak Films from August through December 2006, according
to her court papers. Her job was to sell investment units in the ``Prince''
and other projects to help finance the films, she said.
Porter said Yang's alleged misconduct toward her began with comments she
had a ``976 voice on the phone.''
``I never had anyone tell me my voice sounded sexy, especially at
work,'' Porter said.
Yang's comments escalated, she testified. Porter claimed he began asking
her about her private parts, including her pubic hair and whether her vagina
resembled a landing strip, she said.
``It was horrible,'' Porter testified. ``I felt degraded.''
Yang told her she looked ``hot'' and that he did not want her to wear
makeup because he liked freckles, Porter testified. He also repeatedly asked
about her underwear, she alleged.
Yang told her he believed a woman's hip was the sexiest part of her
body, Porter testified.
``I just thought it was all so bizarre,'' Porter said. ``I just wanted
to ignore his wackiness.''
Yang once grabbed her and simulated sexual activity, Porter testified.
``I couldn't believe he'd take it that far,'' Porter testified.
On another occasion Yang picked her up and rubbed her buttocks against
his private parts, she alleged.
Yang further degraded her by calling her a lesbian and saying she was
using drugs, Porter testified.
In addition, Yang and Shannon would discuss oral sex experiences they
had with women while in the presence of Porter, according to her suit.
Yang warned her that she didn't comply with ``how we do things'' at Oak
Films, she would lose her job, she alleged.
Porter claims she was confronted by Shannon and Yang about her
complaints in December 2006 and then fired in retaliation after only a few
months on the job. she also claimed she was given just 20 minutes to pack her
belongings.
By firing Porter, Oak Films also was able to avoid paying her
commissions she was still owed, according to her suit.
``The Prince and the Pauper'' was released on DVD in April and features
16-year-old twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse, who star on the Disney Channel's
``The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
Another Oak Films project, ``The Kings of Appletown,'' also stars the
Sprouse brothers and is still in production. |
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Johnny Rotten: The Independant |
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Friday, 03 October 2008 |
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Johnny Finds the Attention Rotten By Henry Deedes, from the article "Pandora: Cameron Falls Foul of Health and Safety" Johnny Rotten is in front of the lawyers in LA today to answer a civil lawsuit which alleges he punched Roxanne Davis, an assistant on a reality TV show he was filming. Surprisingly for a man who has basked in controversy all these years, the former Sex Pistol – real name John Lydon – isn't keen on the media being granted access to his taped deposition. His bashfulness could have something to do with the fact that among the details filed in the 33-page lawsuit is a list of demands he reportedly made to the programme's production company, which would make even Jennifer Lopez blush. Ms Davis's lawyer, Keith Fink, says Rotten demanded a budget for his own stylist, that all plane seats and hotel rooms should be next to his assistant, Rambo, and "under no circumstances was anyone to touch Rotten's hair". Link |
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Oak Films: Witnesses Come Forward |
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Sunday, 14 September 2008 |
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Witnesses complain as trial of suit against `Prince and the Pauper' makers nears Daily News Wire Services With trial to begin soon of a woman's sexual harassment suit against the company behind the feature film "The Prince and the Pauper," two people who stepped forward to corroborate the plaintiff's claims say they are now paying a price.
Christeon Gordon and Paul K. Woolley allege they became targets for intimidation for cooperating with Mary Beth Porter's lawyers in her case against Oak Films and two of her former supervisors, John Yang and Steele Shannon.
Porter sued Oak Films and the two men in May 2007 in Los Angeles Superior Court on various causes of action, including harassment and discrimination based on sex, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination.
All clients and their lawyers have been ordered to be present today for a settlement conference with a judge in a final attempt to resolve the case without a trial.
Gordon says in a sworn declaration that he worked for Oak Films from July to November 2006 as an associate producer selling units for "The Prince and the Pauper" and "The Kings of Appletown." When he appeared for a deposition in Porter's case, he was served with a cross-complaint by Yang's lawyer for indemnity, he states.
In his declaration, Woolley, the president of the film marketing firm Woolley Global, says he was the exclusive sales agent for "The Prince and the Pauper" in 2006. He maintains he spent extensive time at Oak Films that year and witnessed "serious sexual harassment" of women by Yang and "inappropriate behavior" by Shannon.
Porter's lawyer, Keith A. Fink, maintains Oak Films representatives were obligated to tell him sooner about the information Woolley had about the case and later tried to intimidate the witness from testifying in a deposition.
"The Prince and the Pauper" was released on DVD in April and features 16-year-old twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse, who star on the Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. "The Kings of Appletown" also stars the Sprouse brothers and is still in production.
Porter claims that after she was hired in August 2006, Yang slapped her on the buttocks and regularly made inappropriate conversation with her, including asking if her pubic hair was "shaved bare or ... in the shape of a landing strip."
In addition, Yang and Shannon would discuss oral sex experiences they had with women while in the presence of Porter, according to her suit.
When Porter complained to Oak Films executive producer and co-owner Joe Reilly, he told her to talk to a woman who was responsible for human resource duties, the suit states.
Instead of helping Porter, the woman also complained about Yang and said it "bothered her that her supervisors would attend strip clubs after shooting `The Prince and the Pauper,"' the lawsuit alleges.
Porter claims she was confronted by Shannon and Yang about her complaints in December 2006 and then fired in retaliation after only a few months on the job and given just 20 minutes to pack her belongings.
By firing Porter, Oak Films also was able to avoid paying her commissions she was still owed, according to her suit, which is scheduled for trial on Wednesday.
Attorneys for the company and the supervisors have denied any wrongdoing on the part of their clients and maintain Porter was an independent contractor, not an employee.
Both Oak Films attorney T. Sean Butler and Yang's lawyer, Brett M. Rubin, declined to comment on the Gordon-Woolley declarations.
However, a former Oak Hills co-worker of Porter's, Dina Moore, states in a sworn declaration that Porter "was kind of crazy" and sometimes did cartwheels in the office. She would cry when criticized and was routinely late to work, according to Moore.
According to Fink, although Oak Films bills itself as the creator, producer and distributor of quality family entertainment, that image is in stark contrast to the alleged misconduct of some male supervisors toward female employees. "If Mr. Disney knew his name and legacy were being associated with a production company whose workplace degrades, demeans and humiliates women, I have no doubt he would be appalled," Fink said. "I was brought up on a Disney that instilled values of a hard and honest work ethic in characters such as Cinderella and Snow White. In my eyes this image is severely tarnished."
He also said the comments by Moore about Porter are untrue.
According to Gordon's declaration, women who worked for Oak Films were not treated with the same respect as men.
"I saw Mr. Yang engage in sexually demeaning behavior with other women in the Oak Films workplace ... and stating to the women in the office, `You make me so (aroused),"' Gordon states in a sworn declaration in support of Porter's claims. "I also witnessed Mr. Yang place his head in between (a female employee's) breasts. I heard Mr. Yang say ... that we're the big swinging (epithet), we don't care about sexual harassment."
Woolley says in his declaration that when he told Reilly that Yang was a "predator" and needed to be dealt with to avoid a lawsuit against Oak Films, Reilly replied that he was too busy to deal with the matter and that they company could handle being sued, according to Woolley.
Woolley also states that when he complained to Yang personally about his conduct toward a woman from another company during a drive to a Palm Beach International Film Festival after-party in Florida in April, Yang ordered him out of his car in a gang-infested neighborhood. Link |
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