Thursday, May 1, 2014

What Kind of Legal Fight Will Donald Sterling Put Up If He Decides to Fight the NBA?

In the past, Donald Sterling has been super aggressive in court.

USA Today reports:
Sterling relishes litigation and has a history of being plaintiff and defendant. He once sued former Clippers coach Bill Fitch for not actively looking for a job after the team fired him, and former Clippers coach and GM Mike Dunleavy went to arbitration when Sterling stopped paying him after Dunleavy was fired. Former Clippers coach Bob Weiss went to court and fought for money he said Sterling owed him.

Attorney Carl E. Douglas, who battled Sterling in court and lost, told USAT:
Over the course of six or seven deposition sessions and I examined him in trial, he consciously will do or say anything to support his position. When we would have our depositions, he would snarl his answers. His lawyer is part of law firm , and they are accustomed to steamrolling everyone.
Any Sterling legal actions will likely be spearheaded by Robert Platt of the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips law firm. This is what the law firms web site says about Platt
:
Mr. Platt has been one of Los Angeles' most successful general commercial litigators for almost 30 years. Mr. Platt's nationwide practice includes all types of complex business litigation, including defending class action lawsuits, false advertising lawsuits, consumer class actions, housing discrimination lawsuits, employment litigation, wage and hour class actions, trade secret litigation, real estate litigation, securities litigation, entertainment litigation, and sports law. He represents a wide variety of clients in state and federal courts, as well as before various administrative agencies.
Mr. Platt has served as the General Counsel for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team from 1988 to the present. Mr. Platt also serves as the General Counsel of Mandalay Digital Group.
Mr. Platt has also been recognized as a "Super Lawyer" by both Los Angeles Magazine and the Los Angeles Times  every year since the inception of the awards, and is an "AV" rated lawyer.
Mr. Platt has served as lead trial counsel in hundreds of cases filed throughout the United States.  Below are some examples:
Elgin Baylor v. Los Angeles Clippers, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court. Successfully obtained a defense judgment after a highly publicized five-week jury trial. The team's former general manager alleged claims for age and race discrimination, wrongful discharge and retaliation. After just three hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously ruled in the Team's favor on all claims 
Madeleine, LLC v. Alan I. Casden, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87020 ___ F.2d ___ (S.D.N.Y. 2013). Successfully defended a claim for breach of a promissory note where Plaintiff sought in excess of $84 million in principal, regular interest and default interest. After a 3 day trial, the Court ruled in favor of Defendant on all counts and entered a judgment in favor of Defendant. 
Sumner Davenport v. Beverly Hills Properties and Donald T. Sterling, Los Angeles Superior Court. Successfully defended Beverly Hills Properties and Donald T. Sterling before a jury. The Plaintiff was a former property supervisor and alleged claims for sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful discharge. After a nine-week trial, the jury ruled in Defendants' favor on all claims.
Druyan v. Rolling Stones, Ticketmaster and Clear Channel SFX, 508 F. Supp. 2d 228 (S.D.N.Y. 2007). Prevailed on a motion to dismiss a putative class action suit claiming that Defendants violated New York consumer protection laws by failing to timely and properly notify consumers of the cancellation of a concert tour. 
Sayed v. AMC Theatres, et al., United States District Court for the Central District of California. Successfully defended theater chain in defense of action in which the ACLU alleged that two Afghan-American Plaintiffs were removed from the theater by security officers based on their ethnicity. -

5 comments:

  1. ....Let's get ready to RUMBLEEEEE...............!

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  2. Yeah, this is why my personal opinion is that v stiv and her side were fishing for an actual criminal charge and evidence thereof. It seems to this outsider that the release was premature but once it was out they had to go with what they had rather than abort the mission.
    I saw oprah asking a tmz reporter who was chatting her up about interviewing sterling, how they got the tape, "did she just call you up?"
    Even oprah realizes that the release didn't benefit v stiv so why was it out and why that portion? She says she has hundreds of hours of recordings. Was that the single most damaging conversation?
    She carries 2 phones in one of her instagram photos. Was she using one or both of them for recording? Who else would have access to everything on her phone? Plus all of her phone and txt communications? Hmmmmm.
    Who has actually benefitted from the focused media attention on "racism" in sports?

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    1. Great questions anonymous. Sadly, you're asking the right questions while 95% of the media is bloviating on the irrelevant portions

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  3. It's not about this racist guy for God's sake, it about individual rights.
    Do we now live in a country where one can be punished for what he thinks or says in private?

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  4. Mr. Sterling absolutely has the right to say the things recorded. As a seventy-year-old, black, career military man, I heard it all when it comes to racial matters. Therefore, I am not troubled by Mr. Sterling's comments. I do have problems with Blacks, or is it African-Americans, who jump on the bandwagon with the mostly White Media bad mouthing Mr. Sterling by calling him out as "The Racist Of The Week/," while praising the NBA President as a super hero. Never mind the NBA honchos have known about the views of Mr. Sterling for decades. Racism is a cancer in the world and Mr. Sterling is not the source of it. At no time did he in the recording express hatred of Blacks, Hispanics or any minority. He did however express how his friends viewed his companion's associations. He did say he had no problems with her being friendly with Magic Johnson, even to be with him, just don't rub his face in the business in public. What man would be happy with woman "disrespecting" in public have spending over a million dollars on her. I hope that Mr. Sterling will fight this NBA all the way. There is no way the NBA is able succeed in their unjust scheme against Mr. Sterling. Hang in there Mr. Sterling, you have the opportunity to show the world who the real racist are in this plot.

    Misterbaddass

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