Jill Basinger

Basinger has had an eclectic mix of matters lately. She defeated a potential class action against one of California’s largest nursing home companies and settled a $20 million stalking lawsuit against a billionaire by his former wife. She is defending a boxing coach sued by a former waiter who is seeking an $8.6 million “finder’s fee,” and she is pursuing Celine Dion on behalf of the singer’s former agent over the commission on a $500 million deal.

But perhaps her most unusual matter took her to Abu Dhabi for a month to investigate alleged financial shenanigans by executives of what at the time was the largest private healthcare provider in the United Arab Emirates.

“While we were investigating, we started uncovering fabricated documents, and executives started leaving the country,” Basinger said. She and her team reported their findings to the company, NMC Health, which fired the CEO and turned the investigation over to the government.

“It’s rare to do an internal investigation overseas, which ends up with the delisting of a FTSE 100 company,” Basinger said, referring to the Financial Times Stock Exchange.

Her defense of billionaire bond investor William H. Gross involved his ex-wife who claimed she had been harassed and stalked by private investigators Gross hired to watch his properties. The case settled confidentially in November a week before trial. Gross v. Gross, 30-2017-00963638 (O.C. Super. Ct., filed Dec. 27, 2017).

Her boxing coach client, Freddie Roach, was named in a suit by former waiter Gabriel Rueda. Rueda alleges he’s owed a fee for arranging a meeting that led to 2015’s “Fight of the Century” between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

Basinger said Rueda’s story isn’t true, though it’s a frustrating case for her. “It’s hard to find evidence of something not happening,” she said. Rueda v. Pacquiao, BC611486 (L.A. Super. Ct, filed Feb. 24, 2016).

The pandemic has delayed a decision in the Celine Dion matter. In 2017, Dion’s longtime agent, Rob Prinz of ICM, procured a 10-year, $500 million contract for her to perform in Las Vegas. But last year, the pair split. “She decided to fire him so she didn’t have to pay the commission on that deal,” Basinger said.

She is hoping for a decision by the end of the year. International Creative Management Partners LLC v. Dion, TAC No. 53672 (Cal.Lab.Com.)

— Don DeBenedictis