Garrigues v. Hurvitz, et al.
Published: Dec. 24, 2002 | Result Date: Jan. 11, 2002 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: SC052602 Verdict – $3,170,000
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Central West
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Christopher Brizzolara
(Law Offices of Gregory W. Smith)
Defendant
Stephen E. Ronk
(Gordon & Rees LLP)
Thomas M. Ferlauto
(The Law Office of Thomas M. Ferlauto)
Experts
Plaintiff
Sande Buhai
(Loyola Law School)
(technical)
Facts
The defendant Hurvitz, a cosmetic surgeon, obtained, without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiff Garrigues, a draft complaint bearing the name of the plaintiff on the caption as one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs named in the draft complaint. The draft complaint contained allegations regarding a former associate and competitor of Hurvitz. The defendant Hurvitz, without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiff, provided the draft complaint to the Washington Post. The Washington Post subsequently published an article regarding disputes between the defendant Hurvitz and his former associate and competitor, and quoted some of the allegations from the draft complaint. The publication of the Washington Post article and the responses of the various individuals described therein engendered substantial media attention and exposed the plaintiff to significant amounts of unwanted publicity and concomitant economic and non-economic damages.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff offered to settle the action for $499,999.
Specials in Evidence
$220,000
Damages
Attorney fees and costs incurred in defending the claims asserted against the plaintiff by the former associate and competitor of the defendant Hurvitz, loss of earnings, business opportunities and other economic damages, past, present and future pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, humiliation, exposure to unwanted publicity, injury to reputation, and invasion of privacy.
Result
Verdict for the plaintiff for $3,170,000 ($450,000 in attorney fees and costs; $220,000 past economic damages and $2.5 million in non-economic damages)
Other Information
The defendant was represented by Gordon & Rees, LLP and King & Ferlauto during pretrial procedures. However, at trial, the defendant made no appearance and presented no defense.
Deliberation
four hours
Length
three days
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