Gundersen v. Edward D. Jones & Co. LP et al

Defamation, Internet Impersonation

Glenn County

Superior Court Judge Alicia R. Ekland

Plaintiffs Attorney: Gavrilov & Brooks, Ognian A. Gavrilov; Garner & Associates, Llp, John R. Garner; Law Office Of Erika M. Gaspar, Erika M. Gaspar

Defense Attorneys: Keesal, Young & Logan, Samuel A. Keesal Jr., Julie L. Taylor, Simon M. Levy; Gurnee, Mason, Rushford, Bonotto & Forestiere, Llp, Phillip R. Bonotto, Tracy W. Fritch-Thym

Ognian A. Gavrilov

After Dalas Gundersen was terminated in 2014 from the Willows branch of the financial services company Edward D. Jones & Co., where he'd managed $130 million in assets, two other account managers allegedly sought to run him out of town in a defamatory whisper campaign.

Paul Bettenbaugh posted fake Craigslist ads posing as Gundersen and soliciting gay sexual encounters. Lisa Rodriguez told Gundersen's former clients he was untrustworthy and that they could lose their retirement funds.

The point appeared to be that Bettenbaugh and Rodriguez intended to pressure Gundersen to forfeit the cell phone number clients used to contact him so they could take over his book of business.

Gundersen sought help from attorney John R. Garner, who brought in litigator Ognian A. Gavrilov and a third lawyer, Erika M. Gaspar. "I almost didn't take the case," Gavrilov said. "It was hard to know how to value it." Garner said that in voir dire, the team asked potential jurors about the worth of a sullied reputation. "We'd never done a defamation case before, but the defense put on a very chaotic case." Gundersen v. Edward D. Jones & Co. LP et al., 15CV01484 (Glenn Co. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 29, 2016).

"It was almost as if the defense perpetuated the attack," Gavrilov said. At the close of the two-week trial, Gavrilov used his closing argument to challenge the defense to answer basic questions, then pointed out in rebuttal that they'd failed to do so. "We are all witnesses to what they did to this man," he told jurors. "You could see they were angry when they left to deliberate," he said.

Aiming high, he'd asked for $104 million; the jury awarded $30 million against Edward Jones and Rodriguez in general damages, $8 million in general damages plus $35,000 in stipulated punitives against Betenbaugh and $937,500 in punitives against Rodriguez. The trial judge cut the award; with interest it currently stands at about $26 million. Appeals are in progress.

Samuel A. Keesal Jr. of Keesal, Young & Logan, who represents Edward Jones and Rodriguez, and Phillip R. Bonotto of Gurnee, Mason, Rushford, Bonotto & Forestiere, who represents Betenbaugh, did not return messages seeking comment.

- John Roemer