Attorney testifies in malpractice case she knows possible media lawsuit defense is anti-SLAPP motion

LOS ANGELES -The Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP attorney in charge of suing a British tabloid on behalf of a disbarred British barrister testified Friday she knows an anti-SLAPP motion is a possible defense by a media company, but the plaintiff suing her firm said she did not tell him that when estimating costs.

Dominique Shelton, the only member of the firm named specifically in the lawsuit by plaintiff Shahrokh Mireskandari, took the witness stand a day after the judge in the four-week jury trial told defense attorneys he thought evidence suggests "Ms. Shelton was in over her head" as leader of the team suing the Daily Mail.

Mireskandari, who has sued many of his former legal representatives over fees, alleged in the current case that Edwards Palmer and Shelton in particular misrepresented their expertise when he engaged them. He alleged that after the anti-SLAPP motion was filed, Shelton suddenly informed him much of the estimated $338,250 to $601,170 he was told the lawsuit would cost would now be needed to defend just that motion, plus $60,000 more.

Under direct questioning by defense attorney John M. Moscarino of Valle Makoff LLP, Shelton testified she "never" represented herself as a First Amendment expert when she met Mireskandari.

Then plaintiff's attorney Kathleen Bliss of Kathleen Bliss Law, cross-examined.

"And based upon your education and your experience, you knew about anti-SLAPP and the possibility that's it's always a defense when a media company is involved; correct?" Bliss asked.

"No, I did not know that," Shelton said.

"You knew that, even in contract, breach of contract cases, if there's a publication, that that can prompt an anti-SLAPP opposition or motion to strike. right?" Bliss asked.

"I know that, yeah," Shelton responded.

Shelton earlier testified if she had known about all of Mireskandari's prior lawsuits, and that he didn't intend to pay her, she would not have taken the case. Shahrokh Mireskandari v. Edwards Wildman Palmer, BC517799 (Filed Aug 9, 2013, L.A. Sup. Ct.).

Shelton claimed many of the additional fees Mireskandari became upset about during the course of his case were due to the fact that school records improperly obtained by the Daily Mail were not located in the National Student Clearinghouse as he originally told her.

"He didn't have an articulable legal defense now that the facts that he gave me were false," Shelton said.

On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green rejected a defense request for a directed verdict, saying outside the presence of the jury, "Is there enough to proceed on a breach of fiduciary duty claim? I think that there is."

He referred to an email sent by Shelton to her team suggesting they should cease work on Mireskandari's invasion of privacy suit because he had not paid their fees.

"'Pencils down' is evidence of admissible intent," Green said, noting he found this evidence "extraordinary" and "disturbing."

Green said he did not understand how Shelton, described as a high-powered attorney with a sterling academic background, was consulting professors from George Washington University and attorneys from Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP on aspects of the case.

"There's a problem you're going to need to address, which is: Was she over her head and did she know she was in over her head?" the judge told Moscarino. "I think there is evidence through breadcrumbs, that if followed, suggest Ms. Shelton was in over her head."

Shelton testified her legal team did everything in their power to defend their client's best interests given the information they had. She also detailed her academic credentials, such as her former post as an editor of Georgetown's Journal of Legal Ethics.

Moscarino guided Shelton through a history of her legal training that painted a picture of a talented attorney with a serious dedication to the causes of racial and social justice, on campus and professionally.

She said these sympathies drew her attention to the plight of Mireskandari, who left Iran as a child and whom she perceived as the victim of racist persecution by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. That agency governs the British legal profession and disbarred him after the Daily Mail reported he fabricated legal qualifications and hid criminal convictions.

Editors note: An earlier version of this article wrongly stated in the headline and first paragraph that Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP attorney Dominique Shelton admitted she didn't know an anti-SLAPP motion was a probable defense in a libel or invasion of privacy case against a media organization when she represented a plaintiff against a newspaper. The Daily Journal regrets the error.