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Mark Jelagos, a celebrity defense attorney who has been in the spotlight to represent Eric and Lyle Menendez, will have to pay $100,000 to a youth basketball coach for his role in the 2018 scheme, the Los Angeles ju umpire decided Wednesday.
Coach Gary Franklin had alleged in the legal malpractice lawsuit that Geragos and now disgraceeded and entrusted lawyer Michael Abenatti buried a potential $1.5 million settlement from Nike by driving a lucrative income stream for himself.
In addition to the settlement with Franklin, the two lawyers argued that apparel companies must hire them to conduct a confidential investigation of more than $20 million. Otherwise, Abenatti allegedly publicly disclosed alleged cheating on youth basketball that he collected from Franklin, according to Franklin’s lawsuit.
The scheme ended with Abenatti’s arrest and a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, with Geragos being considered a temporary unindicted co-conspirator. Franklin claimed that along with his reputation and livelihood, he derailed his chances on a million-dollar payday.
After several days of testimony in downtown Los Angeles, where Jelagos was witness, the verdict claimed victory on both sides.
The ju judge discovered that Jelagos helped Abenatti and avet, deliberately assisted in tort and ultimately violated his duties as a lawyer, but Franklin did not harm Jelagos. Trent Copeland, who represented Franklin, said the $100,000 award was “less substantial than evidence appears to have been proven,” but there was still a victory.
However, the ju-decides also concluded that Geragos had not fraudulent or concealed the information from Franklin and did not act against Franklin’s interests.
“I am pleased that the ju judges have seen this lawsuit and found that Mr. Jelagos does not harm him,” said Sean Mathias, who represented Jelagos at the trial.
Franklin was a longtime coach for the California Supreme, a well-received youth basketball program in LA, where Nike sponsored a $72,000-year tuning. After halting a sponsorship agreement with Franklin’s team in 2019, Nike sought Abenatti’s help and later reached the pinnacle of fame to represent Stormy Daniels in a suit against Donald Trump.
Abenatti cooked the scheme after learning from Franklin about potential misconduct in university recruitment. He threatened to hold a press conference to uncover allegations of fraud by Nike employees unless Nike agreed to pay a settlement with Franklin and hire two lawyers to carry out a $15-$25 million “internal investigation.”
Franklin argued that Geragos was important to the plan and boasted of building a “great” relationship with Nike’s top lawyers. Within a few days, Jelagos and Abenatti met with Nike’s attorneys in Jelagos’ New York office and threatened to release Franklin’s information if Nike fails to pay.
“It’s a betrayal. It’s a betrayal that shatters the man’s reputation,” Copeland, who represented Franklin, said in his final argument. “When a lawyer commits fraud, when a lawyer betrays his fiduciary duties, when a lawyer negotiates with his own client, when a lawyer stands quietly, when the lawyer stands up, the lawyer is responsible for all the harm that continues.”
In his defense, Jelagos retorted that he never made a formal $1.5 million settlement offer from Nike and was not Franklin’s lawyer in the first place. Instead, Jelagos argued that he would act as a mediator in the dispute between Abenatti and Nike’s lawyers and would not meet, meet or text with Franklin. There were no holder agreements or engagements governing Jelagos’ relationship with either Franklin or Abenatti, his defense attorney Macias said in discussions Wednesday.
“It’s like sue a concierge,” Macias said. “All he did was connect somebody.”
Noting that Avenatti talked a lot during his 2019 meeting with Nike Laywers, Macias put Geragos’ position on “We put together two guys. I was sitting in the room. I drank diet cola. I was silent and sued.”
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