|
 |
- Obtained a $million-plus judgment for the former girlfriend of a Saudi Arabian prince for his assaults on her while they were dating.
- Represented the wife of a Middle Eastern sheik in her lawsuit against him for physical and mental abuses during the marriage. Spent a week in London with the sheik and his staff, negotiating a settlement night and day. Case settled favorably. Details confidential.
- Handled divorces involving Goldie Hawn, Natalie Cole, Bob Crane and many others in the entertainment industry; defended Ringo Starr in palimony suit brought by his former girlfriend.
- Defended musician/composer in multi-million dollar copyright infringement suit that claimed client did not write his Grammy-winning song. Case dismissed on all counts. Other side appealed. Dismissal of suit affirmed by court of appeals.
- Got recording artist out of contract with major record company after they failed to actively promote her Grammy-nominated album.
- Defended celebrity client and the production company that made his highly-rated network TV special. After the show aired, its Emmy-winning producer/director sued for numerous claimed breaches of their agreement. Won verdict for clients on all issues.
- Numerous times, aggressively prosecuted motion picture “pirates” throughout the world in order to get them to stop illegally copying, distributing and exhibiting client’s films and videos.
- Was retained by the widow of a middle-age man who was killed when his car was hit head-on by a pickup truck being driven by newspaper delivery person. Until just before trial, the newspaper refused to pay anything, but ultimately they threw in the towel and agreed to a large settlement.
- Won large jury verdict against the LAPD after they refused to pay for major injuries suffered by clients when their car was broadsided by undercover detective tailing a suspect.
- Commercial passenger van ran over client's elderly mother in intersection. She died without regaining consciousness. The business that owned the van refused to pay anything. Case was pursued vigorously, and generous settlement reached prior to trial.
- After their divorce, ex-husband sued Lee's client, his ex-wife, for fraud, claiming he had just learned he was not the father of their grown child, and that client had been lying to him about it ever since her birth. He demanded everything she had gotten in the divorce, and more. Case dismissed. Ex-husband appealed. Dismissal affirmed by court of appeals.
- Represented two celebrity brothers accused of attacking a tabloid photographer when they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in the company of the well-known actress girlfriend of one of them. They allegedly punched the photographer and opened the back of his camera, ruining the exposed film. Suit was filed, asking for a small fortune for physical and emotional injuries, damage to his camera, the large payment he would have received from the tabloids for the pictures, and “punitive” damages as punishment for intentional acts of violence. After all but one of his claims were thrown out of court, photographer reluctantly agreed to take very small settlement, dismiss the entire suit and pay his own legal costs.
-
Supposedly without provocation, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter client smashed windows of her employee’s car with baseball bat while employee cowered in the driver’s seat. Employee was injured by shattered glass, and required medical and psychiatric care. Huge lawsuit filed. Prior to trial, case was dismissed for token payment.
- Represented off-duty fireman charged with taking off his clothes, leaving them in his parked car, and then running stark naked down a busy street at mid-day. Complaining witness was a California Highway Patrol officer, who happened to be driving by, observed the incident and made the arrest. All charges dismissed.
- Client, an entertainer, was outraged by the erratic movements of the car ahead of him. At the next red light, he stopped, got out of his car, and walked over to the other one. He then began kicking it furiously while shouting threats and obscenities. Other driver filed a criminal complaint. Convinced prosecutors to drop all charges.
- Took the case of two young women who, while wearing nothing but their brief bikinis, were handcuffed, arrested, booked, jailed and charged with willfully trespassing on a clearly marked private beach in Malibu. Case dismissed.
- In Taiwan (where the husband in a divorce case calls all the shots and the wife has few, if any, rights), a rich and powerful man had no trouble getting custody of the couple's two young children when the marriage ended. Having no future alone in Taiwan without her children, the mother moved to the United States. Years later, the father brought the children to Los Angeles on a visit. While in L.A., they secretly located mother and escaped so they could be with her. Successfully fought father’s attempts to have children sent back to Taiwan with him, and won full custody for mother.
- Following their divorce, ex-wife sued client for fraud, claiming he had concealed and then unlawfully sold one of the family’s assets for $1 million and pocketed the money. She further complained that in addition, he had hidden another valuable business interest. To cap off her lawsuit, she also asked for $1 million in “punitive” damages. Case ultimately settled favorably and lawsuit dismissed.
- Extremely wealthy, hostile neighbor whose mansion dominated top of hill sued entertainer client for an injunction to stop construction of his palatial home lower down the slope, and for a great deal of money to boot. Neighbor claimed client was building on his side of the property line, and that the construction endangered the stability of the entire hillside. Case dismissed.
- Represented recording artist/songwriter in claim against another singer/songwriter. Part of the instrumental portion of client's composition was copied without permission by the other writer. Song was put on his album, and used in a hit movie. After extensive out-of-court battle, got substantial cash settlement and large ownership interest in the song.
- In a bitter, hotly contested case to dissolve client’s brief marriage to wealthy husband, won what he and his team of veteran divorce lawyers claimed were highly excessive property and alimony awards for her. Husband appealed court's decision. Affirmed by court of appeals on all counts.
- Came within minutes of being murdered by Asian businessman while representing his wife in their divorce. Unknown to her, the man had a second wife and family living in the Far East. When client (who did not understand English, and spoke through a translator) found out, she retained Lee to file divorce papers for her. Husband's ego could not accept his wife divorcing him, so he decided to kill both her and Lee. His plan was to first shoot client at her home, and then Lee at his office. Luckily for the intended victims, husband's brother alerted wife that he was on his way over. She phoned Lee, and informed him of the plot through an interpreter. Lee then arranged with the police for them to hide out at her house until husband arrived. He showed up soon after the police were positioned, and was arrested as he approached the front door, loaded gun in hand. Husband was booked and charged. The divorce case eventually settled most favorably. Heeding advice from the police, Lee allowed them to give him a police escort to and from his office until they were pretty sure the husband was not going to try it again.
- Rocker’s former girlfriend sued client for assault and battery after he beat her up following an alcohol-soaked autograph-signing party held to kick off the launch of his group’s latest CD. She needed extensive medical treatment for her injuries. After her deposition, where Lee went into great detail asking about her behavior during the night in question, she backed off and agreed to take a very small settlement, pay her own court costs, and dismiss the lawsuit.
- Took member of popular rock group before the State Labor Commissioner and was successful in getting his contract with his personal manager cancelled.
|
A SAMPLING OF CLIENTS LEE HAS REPRESENTED:
Hal Ashby (Academy Award nominated director of many acclaimed films); Bank of Beaufort; Kim Basinger; Cable Networks, Inc.; Centerre Bank, N.A.; Estate of Bob Crane; Dan Davis (co-founder of Kaleidoscope Films, Inc. and Cinema Research Corporation); DIR Broadcasting; Dollhouse Pictures; Sheila E; The Electric Picture Company; Kenny G; Multiple Grammy-Winner John (Gentle On My Mind; Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?) Hartford; Hawkeye Entertainment, Inc.; Marine Jahan (the uncredited "real" dancer in Flashdance); Elton John; Media Networks, Inc.; Russ Meyer; Mobil Oil Corporation; E. M. Nathanson (author of The Dirty Dozen); Juice Newton; Nu Visions Management; Paradigm Talent Agency; Eddie Rabbitt; RM Films International, Inc.; Patrice Rushen; Ringo Starr; Donna Summer; Taylor Made Productions; TeleCheck; Warrant; Dale Wasserman (author of Man of La Mancha, the stage version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and many other works); Western Airlines (now part of Delta Air Lines); Cindy Williams.
Besides his many business, entertainment and personal clients, Lee represents the estate of his late friend, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, Harry Nilsson (The Beatles' good friend and favorite musician). Known best for songs like Everybody's Talkin' (from Midnight Cowboy), Without You, Coconut (Put de lime in de coconut), Me and My Arrow and One (Is the Loneliest Number), Nilsson was not as famous during his lifetime as he deserved to be -- mainly because he avoided making public appearances and would not do live concerts. Dedicated to keeping the Nilsson legacy alive, Lee works hand in hand with Sony/BMG Music Entertainment in the release of digitally remastered Nilsson albums on CD in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, he promotes and oversees the placement of Nilsson's songs in major motion pictures like You've Got Mail, Magnolia, Stuart Little 2 and Shrek; and popular television shows such as House, My Name is Earl, Cold Case, Two and a Half Men, Life, Friends, Nip/Tuck, The Simpsons, Without a Trace, Everybody Loves Raymond, Wilfred, Parenthood and Bones. In association with esteemed documentarians, Lee produced a critically acclaimed feature-length documentary on Nilsson's life and music titled Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?). He also spearheaded the release of Nilsson's animated movie, The Point, on DVD, and is teaming with theatre professionals in New York and movie producers in Hollywood to bring it to Broadway as a stage-musical and to movie theatres as a live-action feature film.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
