Legal News

Judith Regan?s Lawyers Sue Her for Fees

By Dan Slater

Once upon a time, not long ago, they were all on the same team, working together to sue News Corp. for firing Judith Regan (pictured, flanked by her two lawyers) for allegedly making anti-semitic remarks during a conversation with an in-house lawyer at her publishing house. In January, their work led to an “equitable, confidential settlement,” between Regan and News, “with no admission of liability by any party.”

(Quick re-cap: Regan was fired a month after News Corp. pulled the plug on her plans to publish a book by O.J. Simpson, in which he gave a hypothetical account of killing his ex-wife and her friend. In firing her, News Corp. quoted Regan as having complained that she was the victim of a “Jewish cabal” after the book deal was nixed.)

But now the party’s over. And Regan’s legal team from Dreier, which includes Brian Kerr (pictured, right), the lawyer who filed Regan’s suit in New York State court in November, is suing Regan, saying she failed to reimburse them their $42,560 in fees, and also cut them out of her settlement agreement. The lawyers say she promised them 25 percent of any gross recovery “through judgment or out-of-court settlement.” Regan’s lawyers from Dreier are also suing Bertram Fields (pictured, left), the lawyer Regan hired to settle the suit, for allegedly interfering with Dreier getting its cut. Click here for the AP story.

Talking to the New York Post (link unavailable), Fields called the suit “utter hogwash,” and said: “Unless they dismiss that complaint, I’m going to sue them for malicious prosecution. I had nothing to do with them getting fired, or with not getting them paid.” According to Fields, he never saw Regan’s agreement with the Dreier lawyers.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 04, 2008 (boomark / email).