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Dispute Resolution Keyed to Golann, 4th Ed.
Cassel v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Citation:
244 P.3d 1080 (2011)Facts
Michael Cassel held a global master license to use the Von Dutch clothing label and founded Von Dutch Originals, L.L.C. (VDO). After losing an arbitration dispute over VDO ownership, Cassel continued marketing Von Dutch products based on advice from his attorneys at WCCP. VDO sued Cassel for trademark infringement and obtained a preliminary injunction. On August 4, 2004, the parties participated in mediation lasting fourteen hours. Cassel alleged that his attorneys, who had a conflict of interest, pressured him to accept a settlement of one point two five million dollars despite their prior agreement that he would accept no less than two million dollars. Cassel claimed his attorneys used various coercive tactics including threatening to abandon him at trial, misrepresenting settlement terms, falsely promising to negotiate a side deal and reduce legal fees, accompanying him to the bathroom while continuing to pressure him, and exploiting his exhaustion to force him to sign the settlement agreement at midnight. Cassel subsequently sued WCCP for malpractice, and the firm moved to exclude all evidence of private attorney-client discussions before and during the mediation concerning settlement strategy and their efforts to persuade him to settle.
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