brandon_cox
Jolly Good Fellow
- Messages
- 323
Ron’s attorney withdrawing from the case is a very big deal. Paul Gattone is not a high profile attorney but he looks like he knows his way around a courtroom. He most likely took the case on a contingency basis. That means he isn’t paid anything up front but collects a percentage of any recovery from the counterclaim that CJP raped and attacked JP. If JP and RB don’t collect than the attorney doesn’t get paid and attorneys (obviously) hate that. Some cases come together while others fall apart. If I’m representing someone on a contingency basis and the case falls apart I withdraw ASAP.
Gattone didn’t just withdraw; he accused his clients of lying about the evidence they had and refusing to cooperate. What this means is that RB and JP will have a really rough time getting new counsel. Everyone in the Pima County legal community knows about the case – it’s high profile - and gossips about it. (How do I know this? Because all courthouses are like this. Attorneys are the worst gossips you’ve ever seen). The Defendants will never get any attorney to take this on a contingency basis.
Josh Pastner is still very popular in Arizona. No high profile attorney will touch this case without a monstrous retainer. Otherwise it’s just not worth the aggravation of getting in bed with 2 crazy people. If he walked into my office I would demand a $50,000.00 non- refundable retainer, charge him $500 an hour and demand a retainer agreement that once the balance goes under $25,000.00 he must immediately replenish it to $50K or I am allowed to automatically withdraw. Most attorneys would demand at least a 100K retainer. If he wants to pursue the counterclaim to verdict it will cost him several hundred thousand dollars in attorney fees, along with the very real possibility that he'll be paying CJP's attorney fees as well.
CJP has Miracle Whips and JP by the short hairs. If I was representing CJP I would demand an apology under oath along with payment of my attorney fees and an airtight agreement with liquidated damages mandating that he doesn’t come near me or my family or make any further allegations. (Liquidated damages specify a sum certain for each violation of the agreement).
The independent investigation, although not admissible in court, totally changed the national narrative about the case. The attorneys’ withdrawal- and the nasty way they did it – further seals their fate. RB and JP are rapidly running out of options.
So, when I wrote the quoted post I hadn't seen the AJC article which described the contents of their attorneys' Motion to Withdraw. A couple of quick thoughts:
1. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why a competent and respected attorney such Paul Gattone would take a counterclaim alleging sexual assault on a contingency basis. What, I wondered, did Miracle Whips promise in the way of evidence? Well, he fed him the biggest and best lie imaginable: a smoking gun with semen on it. And it worked for a while; he got his national headlines and caused pain to CJP, his family and GT. But now RB and JP are in for a world of hurt. The jig is up.
2. Kudos to Gattone. He wasted thousands of dollars of billable hours on those clowns and he was not leaving without getting a pound of flesh. The Motion to Withdraw is not online but I've read enough coverage of it to know that he went the extra mile to portray RB and JP as liars and frauds. That will resonate strongly within the Pima County legal community. No one will touch this case without an insane retainer and billable rate. These morons may end up representing themselves.
3. The Motion to Withdraw is more devastating to Miracle Whips than the independent investigation, IMHO. So-called independent investigations are often times viewed as biased in favor of whoever is paying the bill (see Goodell, Roger), although the one conducted in this case was thorough and even-handed. But when your own attorney calls you out as a fraud and a liar, well that resonates strongly with everybody, including a prospective jury pool.
4.The case will go on. The Judge will give RB and JP a month or so to find new counsel and will have no sympathy if they can't. There is already outstanding discovery. Coming up in the near future will be Motions to Compel followed by Motions for Sanctions. If RB and JP don't respond, at some time in the future the Judge will probably strike the Counterclaim and enter a judgment of behalf of CJP. The only remaining issue for the jury would be how much damages to award.
5. If I'm CJP I don't take my foot off the accelerator. He's in a position to crush these scumbags. As a lawyer, it would be a freaking wet dream to depose these lying sacks of manure. They've told so many lies and contradicted themselves so many times that they will probably end up perjuring themselves. So, let's see what happens next. Will CJP let him settle or will he go all in on destroying Miracle Whips once and for all.