Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See: How Not to Launch a Hollywood Lawsuit…

August 5th, 2014. By LucyC

We’ve had it! The lawyers defending—or not—Michael Egan III—who filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against “X-Men” director Bryan Singer—want out. And they’ve got their court date—August 6^th.  Can’t blame ’em when you consider how much this one’s been in the media; when you win a case on the front page of the news, you win big–not so when you’re realizing the front page news might be that your client didn’t prevail… So, attorneys Jeff Herman and Mark Gallagher claim they no longer speak with their client—except through a new lawyer. Yup, that would make things difficult. So, sometimes you just have to cut your losses.

The backstory—31-year old Egan is accusing Singer of sexually abusing him during trips he took to Hawaii in 1999, when he was 17. Singer has denied the allegations, and filed a motion to dismiss, scheduled for September 9.  FYI—Egan has dropped similar lawsuits he filed against other entertainment figures—so precedent’s on Singer’s side. Adding to the defense attorney’s frustration must be the fact that Egan can’t seem to get his story straight on this lawsuit either, with old depositions coming up that would seemingly negate his charges. Specifically, a deposition given by Egan 10 years ago (11/24/03) as part of a lawsuit also alleging sexual abuse, given under penalty of perjury, where he stated he hadn’t been included on a trip to Hawaii in 1999. Hmm…so, first question that comes to mind – how did the alleged sexual abuse take place ? Virtually? Oh wait—1999 predates “virtually” as we understand it today. Egan also claims Singer abused him in Encino California, which Singer is also denying. According to Buzzfeed, which published part of the deposition, when asked about the Hawaii trip, Egan said “Never had any trips outside the continental US, no.” This, after the attorney who was asking the questions even said to INCLUDE Hawaii, Alaska and the Caribbean as part of the “continental U.S.” So we’re taking a bit of a broad, loosey-goosey definition of “continental” here folks…. Jeff Hermann, trying to do his job, told Buzzfeed that his client may have not have understood the question at the time. “I’m not sure how he interpreted the continental United States,” Herman said. “I’m not sure what he’s talking about specifically here.” Well, if he doesn’t know, then they are in trouble. Hermann reportedly also confirmed with Egan’s mother, Bonnie Mound, and Egan that he had in fact traveled to Hawaii. But Egan said in the deposition that he had not traveled to Hawaii because his mother would not approve of it. What? “Any trip that I ever asked to go anywhere within any far amount of distance to Mexico, any of those my mom would say no and pretty much lock the door and not let me go,” he said at the time. “She didn’t want me going anywhere outside the United States, really.” Well, I’m confused. But as far as abuse goes—it would seem the legal system is taking the brunt of it. PS—as this one winds its way to its likely conclusion, another defendant in the sexual abuse cases, former TV executive Garth Ancier, has filed a malicious prosecution action against both Egan and Herman; stay tuned…

Tags: Bryan Singer, Crazy sh*t lawyers see, Michael Egan, Sexual Abuse, X-Men

This was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2014 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See, Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.