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Dispute Resolution Keyed to Folberg, 4th Ed.
Cassel v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Citation:
244 P.3d 1080 (2011)Facts
Michael Cassel filed a complaint against his former attorneys, WCCP, alleging they breached their professional, fiduciary, and contractual duties while representing him in a dispute over rights to the Von Dutch clothing label. The complaint alleged that during a 14-hour mediation on August 4, 2004, his attorneys pressured him to accept a $1.25 million settlement when he had previously agreed to accept no less than $2 million. Cassel claimed his attorneys insisted he remain at the mediation despite feeling tired, hungry, and ill; harassed and coerced him to accept the lower settlement; threatened to abandon him at trial; misrepresented settlement terms; falsely promised to negotiate a side deal; and falsely promised to reduce their fees. Cassel alleged that at midnight, after 14 hours of mediation, when he was exhausted and unable to think clearly, the attorneys presented a complicated settlement agreement that he signed, believing he had no other choice. When Cassel later sued his attorneys for malpractice, they moved to exclude all evidence of their private communications with him related to the mediation, including pre-mediation strategy discussions and private conversations during the mediation itself.
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