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Jon Voight Ordered to Pay Attorney Fees
By Bill Hetherman
Actor Jon Voight and the parents of his manager must reimburse $100,000 in attorney fees in a lawsuit they filed against two New Zealand producers who had sued the three claiming they steered them wrong on movie projects.
Daybreak Pacific Ltd. producers Paul and Mark Huljich sued Voight, along with Hank and Dorothy Paul, and others, in federal court in February 2006, claiming fraud and breach of contract and seeking millions of dollars over failed business investments.
The Huljiches maintained they would not have invested in film projects with Steven Paul but for Voight's alleged assertions that members of the Paul family were people of integrity.
The Pauls, who are in their 70s, are the parents of Voight's manager, Steven Paul.
The Huljiches on June 26 were awarded a $630,000 judgment in the federal court suit, but the judgment was against defendants in the case other than Voight and the Pauls.
After being found innocent, Voight and the Pauls alleged in a malicious prosecution complaint filed May 28 in Santa Monica Superior Court that the producers and their attorneys had no reasonable grounds for suing them.
Voight maintained the Huljiches sued him and his manager's parents solely to get a settlement from the manager.
The lawyers for the Huljiches filed motions to dismiss the parts of the Superior Court case against them on grounds it was brought to keep their clients from enforcing the $630,000 judgment, and on Aug. 10, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes dismissed the part of the case against attorney Peter J. Anderson, who represented the Huljiches for a short time, according to Anderson's lawyer, David J. Wilson.
Later that month, court papers were filed on behalf of Voight and the Pauls dropping their case against former Huljich attorneys Petty Tsay and David Rose. Tsay and her firm, Eisner Frank & Kahan, then filed a motion for attorneys' fees.
Grimes ruled that Voight and the Pauls must share in paying $100,000 in those fees.
And now, the attorneys who were sued for malicious prosecution may sue the actor for malicious prosecution.
"The suit against the ... law firm had no basis and was an attempt by the plaintiffs here to extort a reduction in the amount awarded in the underlying matter," Tsay attorney Keith A. Fink said. "While we are happy with the order ... this doesn't unscramble the negativity my clients had to endure from this baseless lawsuit. We will be filing a malicious prosecution action against Mr. Voight."
Attorney Joe Hariton, who represents all three plaintiffs, did not immediately return a call for comment on today's ruling.
Voight and the Pauls were never able to serve the Huljiches with the lawsuit, Fink said.
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