I think Depp is demanding documents being handed over but Mandel is stating it’s none of his business too. There we lots of back and forth motions so I’m guessing Mendel are also raising a stink over requests and I’m guessing personal and financial are being demanded also. This speculation is due to the combined issues of obtaining his money and spending it personally and professionally. Also, because it was claimed Mandels used Depp’s money to invest in entities they owned or had personal interests in, Depp’s lawyers seem to really be on top of things. I’m sure they are looking for personal financial info. They also subpoenaed that group in a Chicago that hosts the investment fund that Mandels have an ownership in as does some of their employees. I don’t know the status of that or how to find it.justintime wrote:Have the Mandel brothers had to (or been requested to) turn over their personal and professional financials since 1999, when they started representing Johnny?
Thank you, Lbock, for turning on the lights.
The Lawsuits Thread
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
Yes, Lbock, hoping this legal team will grind TMG into dust. They deserve no less.Lbock wrote:I think Depp is demanding documents being handed over but Mandel is stating it’s none of his business too. There we lots of back and forth motions so I’m guessing Mendel are also raising a stink over requests and I’m guessing personal and financial are being demanded also. This speculation is due to the combined issues of obtaining his money and spending it personally and professionally. Also, because it was claimed Mandels used Depp’s money to invest in entities they owned or had personal interests in, Depp’s lawyers seem to really be on top of things. I’m sure they are looking for personal financial info. They also subpoenaed that group in a Chicago that hosts the investment fund that Mandels have an ownership in as does some of their employees. I don’t know the status of that or how to find itjustintime wrote:Have the Mandel brothers had to (or been requested to) turn over their personal and professional financials since 1999, when they started representing Johnny?
Thank you, Lbock, for turning on the lights.
"Stay low." ~ JD
"I don't like it in here . . . it's terribly crowded." ~ Hatter
"There's something about Johnny that breaks your heart." ~ John Logan, ST
"Tear deeper, Mother." ~ Wilmot
"I don't like it in here . . . it's terribly crowded." ~ Hatter
"There's something about Johnny that breaks your heart." ~ John Logan, ST
"Tear deeper, Mother." ~ Wilmot
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
This is in response to the Bloom counter lawsuit against Johnny


Johnny Depp Asks Court to Rule That Jake Bloom's "Oral Contract" With Him Is Invalid
The Hollywood Reporter
3:09 PM PDT 3/14/2018 by Ashley Cullins
The actor argues their contingency fee deal needed to be in writing and his ex-lawyer can't sue him for breach of contract because it wasn't.
Johnny Depp is asking a California judge to throw out Jake Bloom's breach of contract claim against him on the grounds that it is barred by state law, according to a motion filed Wednesday.
Depp sued Bloom in October, asserting, among other claims, that his former attorney collected more than $30 million in contingent fees without a proper contract. Bloom countersued in December, asking the court for a declaration that their 1999 oral agreement is valid and claiming Depp breached their deal by failing to pay for legal services.
The actor has retained Stanford Law professor Nora Engstrom, an expert on legal ethics, who on Wednesday sent The Hollywood Reporter a statement about the matter. "In December 2017, Bloom Hergott filed a cross-complaint against Johnny Depp seeking payment pursuant to what they concede was an 'oral' contingency fee contract," she says. "But an oral contingency fee contract, in California, is no contract at all. It's a legal nullity."
Depp's motion for judgment on the pleadings reflects that sentiment.
"Throughout the entire period relevant to this case, Section 6147 has governed contingency fee agreements between lawyers and clients in California," states the motion. "Section 6147(a) requires all lawyers to put every contingency fee agreement in writing signed by the client, provide to the client a duplicate copy of the agreement, and include in the agreement certain express, statutorily mandated disclosures. ... Failure to comply with any of Section 6147's requirements renders the agreement voidable at the client's election."
Essentially, Depp's legal team is arguing that Bloom's request for a declaration is an admission that he didn't have the written contract required under state law and therefore he can't countersue the actor for breach of contract.
Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman sent THR a comment on the filling, urging those in Hollywood to focus on an issue that could have wide-ranging impacts: whether decades of similar handshake agreements between lawyers and clients could be void.
“We look forward to the Judge’s ruling on our simple and straightforward motion: Whether a California law designed to protect clients from lawyer overreach protects Johnny Depp, who was Bloom Hergott's client for nearly two decades," says Waldman. "This motion is not about the litany of other bad acts Mr. Depp has alleged Mr. Bloom committed, while working as Mr. Depp's lawyer. Nor is it about Mr. Depp's many claims against Mr. Mandel, Mr. Depp's former business manager, who is simultaneously the subject of multiple federal criminal investigations and one SEC civil investigation.”
While the statute provides for "a reasonable fee" if the contract is voided, Depp is seeking disgorgement of all fees paid because of the alleged misconduct. He's pursuing a similar argument in his legal fight with his ex-business managers Joel and Robert Mandel who are both also licensed attorneys.
Bloom's attorneys have not yet commented on the filing.
The Hollywood Reporter
3:09 PM PDT 3/14/2018 by Ashley Cullins
The actor argues their contingency fee deal needed to be in writing and his ex-lawyer can't sue him for breach of contract because it wasn't.
Johnny Depp is asking a California judge to throw out Jake Bloom's breach of contract claim against him on the grounds that it is barred by state law, according to a motion filed Wednesday.
Depp sued Bloom in October, asserting, among other claims, that his former attorney collected more than $30 million in contingent fees without a proper contract. Bloom countersued in December, asking the court for a declaration that their 1999 oral agreement is valid and claiming Depp breached their deal by failing to pay for legal services.
The actor has retained Stanford Law professor Nora Engstrom, an expert on legal ethics, who on Wednesday sent The Hollywood Reporter a statement about the matter. "In December 2017, Bloom Hergott filed a cross-complaint against Johnny Depp seeking payment pursuant to what they concede was an 'oral' contingency fee contract," she says. "But an oral contingency fee contract, in California, is no contract at all. It's a legal nullity."
Depp's motion for judgment on the pleadings reflects that sentiment.
"Throughout the entire period relevant to this case, Section 6147 has governed contingency fee agreements between lawyers and clients in California," states the motion. "Section 6147(a) requires all lawyers to put every contingency fee agreement in writing signed by the client, provide to the client a duplicate copy of the agreement, and include in the agreement certain express, statutorily mandated disclosures. ... Failure to comply with any of Section 6147's requirements renders the agreement voidable at the client's election."
Essentially, Depp's legal team is arguing that Bloom's request for a declaration is an admission that he didn't have the written contract required under state law and therefore he can't countersue the actor for breach of contract.
Depp's lawyer Adam Waldman sent THR a comment on the filling, urging those in Hollywood to focus on an issue that could have wide-ranging impacts: whether decades of similar handshake agreements between lawyers and clients could be void.
“We look forward to the Judge’s ruling on our simple and straightforward motion: Whether a California law designed to protect clients from lawyer overreach protects Johnny Depp, who was Bloom Hergott's client for nearly two decades," says Waldman. "This motion is not about the litany of other bad acts Mr. Depp has alleged Mr. Bloom committed, while working as Mr. Depp's lawyer. Nor is it about Mr. Depp's many claims against Mr. Mandel, Mr. Depp's former business manager, who is simultaneously the subject of multiple federal criminal investigations and one SEC civil investigation.”
While the statute provides for "a reasonable fee" if the contract is voided, Depp is seeking disgorgement of all fees paid because of the alleged misconduct. He's pursuing a similar argument in his legal fight with his ex-business managers Joel and Robert Mandel who are both also licensed attorneys.
Bloom's attorneys have not yet commented on the filing.

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
To add to the above story re Bloom. Jacob Bloom has a vacation home he has been trying to sell since September 2016 ... interesting time
He failed to sell it, dropped the price, still failed, put it up for auction where it failed again. Another auction which still failed. It is now listed as a regular contract or treaty Sale.
http://eliteauctions.com/portfolio/sun-valley-id/
He failed to sell it, dropped the price, still failed, put it up for auction where it failed again. Another auction which still failed. It is now listed as a regular contract or treaty Sale.
http://eliteauctions.com/portfolio/sun-valley-id/
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
Johnny's case could become an important precedent. Hopefully it will be fine for Johnny. 

...it's not easy, to be different..."
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
That is what I have read. That is one of the reasons why I don’t think it will be settled out of court. At least in part,marija wrote:Johnny's case could become an important precedent. Hopefully it will be fine for Johnny.
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
So, apparently Johnny changed a lawyer:
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
The headline of this article is "Johnny Depp Loses Lawyers As Trial Battle With Ex-Biz Managers Approaches". If you read the pleading it says that the person requesting the substitution is the plaintiff (Johnny). I am sure that he and his attorney Edward White have reasons for switching attorney's. The news media has to use this to try to make Johnny look incompetent.
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
That's why I wrote "changed" 

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
It would be nice if the person who wrote the story would have used the word "changed." Reporters have to make Johnny look bad.tralala wrote:That's why I wrote "changed"
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
I do hope this is NOT true! But just in case here is what Deadline Hollywood has to say today:


EXCLUSIVE: At World’s End may not just be a title in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for Johnny Depp but also the state of the star’s $25 million fraud lawsuit with his former business managers.
RelatedJudge Backs AMC Networks Motion In Latest Battle Of 'Walking Dead' War
Less than three weeks after losing heavyweights Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP as part of his legal team in the nearly year and a half long multi-complaint battle with The Management Group, Depp has now been bloodlessly cut loose by replacement Michelman & Robinson, LLP.
“Upon having had an opportunity to review this matter in detail, we have determined it is in the best interest of our firm to focus our attention on other matters,” a spokesperson for the Irvine, CA based firm bluntly told Deadline today. “We wish the parties luck in resolving their differences,” they added after a deep dive into the affair and then exit of the leaking Good Ship Depp in just under a month.
Additionally, I hear that Michelman & Robinson attorneys will not be in front of Judge Teresa Beaudet tomorrow in Los Angeles Superior Court tomorrow for a scheduled procedural motion hearing in the case that Depp instigated against TMG back in January 2017. Amidst tales of extravagant spending by the Murder On The Orient Express star, foreclosure attempts and bare financial cupboards dominating the actor’s complaint and the commission seeking cross-complaint that TMG hit back with soon afterwards, this latest shake-up in the Oscar nominee’s legal representation also comes as an August 15 trial start date is approaching in the matter.
Even closer on the calendar and making Depp look more like a defendant than the plaintiff he is, I’ve learned that a deposition of the actor that was supposed to take place in early May has certainly been postponed. No new deposition date has been penciled in despite the legal invectives and moves each side have lashed the other with and the trial date on the horizon.
Another wrinkle in the matter is the status of Washington DC-based lawyer Adam Waldman in the case.
Depp’s most vocal advocate was listed on April 4 filings as “former attorneys for plaintiff and cross-defendant.” However, indications were that an error had taken place and Waldman and the Endeavor Law Firm would be formally put back on the case, so to speak. Oddly, that has not occurred yet and officially Waldman is still no longer repping Depp. Requests for comment by Waldman on the matter went unanswered this evening.
As we reported earlier this month when Depp and Manatt split, Waldman remains an attorney on the actor’s October 17, 2017 filed $30 million suit against his former long time lawyers at Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman LLP. Depp alleges that Jacob Bloom and crew improperly charged him fees and engaged in self-dealing related to the actor’s dealing with TMG.
Unsurprisingly, the Bloom firm countersued in December of last year claiming that they have “been damaged, and continues to be damaged, to the extent the parties’ fee agreement is not enforced and Cross-Defendants have not paid the reasonable value of the legal services” they say they provided the seemingly strapped Depp over the decades.
In previous filings, TMG detailed what they call “irresponsible and profligate spending” by Depp to the tune of millions and millions every month over the past several years. “Depp listened to no one, including TMG and his other advisors, and he demanded they fund a lifestyle that was extravagant and extreme,” the well established Hollywood biz managers stated in their November 2017 action for judicial foreclosure against the actor for a $5 million loan TMG said they made to him to bail him out a few years back.
To be specific, TMG made public last year a gilded list that included the $3 million bucks the Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas star spent to shoot Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes out of a cannon over a decade ago. Detailing what appeared to be a landscape of living way beyond one’s considerable means, Depp’s ex-business manager of 17-years also revealed in their cross-complaint of January 2017 the expenses of $75 million the actor spent to acquire, improve and furnish 14 residences, a hefty guitar and art collection, a yearly payroll of $10 million for friends and family, bodyguards, and at least $2 million a month being paid out for day-to-day costs. In an interview last spring Depp reiterated much of which had been said in his own court filings and added that TMG had “clearly let me down.”
On the other side of the initial case, TMG are still represented by Michael Kump and Suaan MacIsaac of Santa Monica’s Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP – as they have been since this all started.
RelatedJudge Backs AMC Networks Motion In Latest Battle Of 'Walking Dead' War
Less than three weeks after losing heavyweights Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP as part of his legal team in the nearly year and a half long multi-complaint battle with The Management Group, Depp has now been bloodlessly cut loose by replacement Michelman & Robinson, LLP.
“Upon having had an opportunity to review this matter in detail, we have determined it is in the best interest of our firm to focus our attention on other matters,” a spokesperson for the Irvine, CA based firm bluntly told Deadline today. “We wish the parties luck in resolving their differences,” they added after a deep dive into the affair and then exit of the leaking Good Ship Depp in just under a month.
Additionally, I hear that Michelman & Robinson attorneys will not be in front of Judge Teresa Beaudet tomorrow in Los Angeles Superior Court tomorrow for a scheduled procedural motion hearing in the case that Depp instigated against TMG back in January 2017. Amidst tales of extravagant spending by the Murder On The Orient Express star, foreclosure attempts and bare financial cupboards dominating the actor’s complaint and the commission seeking cross-complaint that TMG hit back with soon afterwards, this latest shake-up in the Oscar nominee’s legal representation also comes as an August 15 trial start date is approaching in the matter.
Even closer on the calendar and making Depp look more like a defendant than the plaintiff he is, I’ve learned that a deposition of the actor that was supposed to take place in early May has certainly been postponed. No new deposition date has been penciled in despite the legal invectives and moves each side have lashed the other with and the trial date on the horizon.
Another wrinkle in the matter is the status of Washington DC-based lawyer Adam Waldman in the case.
Depp’s most vocal advocate was listed on April 4 filings as “former attorneys for plaintiff and cross-defendant.” However, indications were that an error had taken place and Waldman and the Endeavor Law Firm would be formally put back on the case, so to speak. Oddly, that has not occurred yet and officially Waldman is still no longer repping Depp. Requests for comment by Waldman on the matter went unanswered this evening.
As we reported earlier this month when Depp and Manatt split, Waldman remains an attorney on the actor’s October 17, 2017 filed $30 million suit against his former long time lawyers at Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman LLP. Depp alleges that Jacob Bloom and crew improperly charged him fees and engaged in self-dealing related to the actor’s dealing with TMG.
Unsurprisingly, the Bloom firm countersued in December of last year claiming that they have “been damaged, and continues to be damaged, to the extent the parties’ fee agreement is not enforced and Cross-Defendants have not paid the reasonable value of the legal services” they say they provided the seemingly strapped Depp over the decades.
In previous filings, TMG detailed what they call “irresponsible and profligate spending” by Depp to the tune of millions and millions every month over the past several years. “Depp listened to no one, including TMG and his other advisors, and he demanded they fund a lifestyle that was extravagant and extreme,” the well established Hollywood biz managers stated in their November 2017 action for judicial foreclosure against the actor for a $5 million loan TMG said they made to him to bail him out a few years back.
To be specific, TMG made public last year a gilded list that included the $3 million bucks the Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas star spent to shoot Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes out of a cannon over a decade ago. Detailing what appeared to be a landscape of living way beyond one’s considerable means, Depp’s ex-business manager of 17-years also revealed in their cross-complaint of January 2017 the expenses of $75 million the actor spent to acquire, improve and furnish 14 residences, a hefty guitar and art collection, a yearly payroll of $10 million for friends and family, bodyguards, and at least $2 million a month being paid out for day-to-day costs. In an interview last spring Depp reiterated much of which had been said in his own court filings and added that TMG had “clearly let me down.”
On the other side of the initial case, TMG are still represented by Michael Kump and Suaan MacIsaac of Santa Monica’s Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP – as they have been since this all started.

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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
Yeah
... 


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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
This is actually pretty alarming.
edit: I should add that the Daily Mail and Deadline are not always 100% accurate.
edit: I should add that the Daily Mail and Deadline are not always 100% accurate.
I'll buy you the hat....a really big one.
St. Roch -- patron saint of pilgrims
St. Roch -- patron saint of pilgrims
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Re: The Lawsuits Thread
Yes, stroch, “alarming” is not overstating anything. I felt a knot in my stomach get tighter as I read the article. It will be especially concerning if the loss of Waldman et al is confirmed. I can’t help but suspect there are some very shady but effective maneuvers being exercised and hefty pressures levied on multiple fronts. I started getting nervous when the Emanuel link was mentioned a while back. Now this new firm turns and runs claiming an in depth study(!) of the case, done virtually overnight by attorney-time, shows it’s not for them? Johnny seriously has rattled some cages. TMG’s vow to “bury” him seems echoed in every new headline surrounding this case.stroch wrote:This is actually pretty alarming.
edit: I should add that the Daily Mail and Deadline are not always 100% accurate.
Last edited by justintime on Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Stay low." ~ JD
"I don't like it in here . . . it's terribly crowded." ~ Hatter
"There's something about Johnny that breaks your heart." ~ John Logan, ST
"Tear deeper, Mother." ~ Wilmot
"I don't like it in here . . . it's terribly crowded." ~ Hatter
"There's something about Johnny that breaks your heart." ~ John Logan, ST
"Tear deeper, Mother." ~ Wilmot