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Kotick Loses Legal Battle Against L.A. Litigator
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has lost a legal battle this week against his former defense attorney Patricia Glaser for more than $1 million.
The tale began back in 2007 when flight attendant Cynthia Madvig filed a lawsuit against Kotick as well as his business partner and a pilot who are part of Cove Management, a company created by Kotick to manage his private jet. Madvig, a flight attendant on the jet, claims she filed sexual harassment complaints against the pilot to Kotick's partner but did not get a response. Two months later Kotick fired the flight attendant, allegedly telling Madvig, "The guys are unhappy with the hostile environment."
Madvig filed a lawsuit two months later for sexual harassment, wrongful termination, failure to prevent sexual harassment, retaliation against her, and other claims. The three men involved in the suit denied the allegations and hired L.A. attorney Patricia Glaser, known as "one of the fiercest litigators in Los Angeles."
The plot thickens. Glaser claimed fees for the company's services amounted to roughly $1 million, to which Kotick only paid $200,000. Refusal to pay full legal fees turned into another case against Kotick and friends, which ended in ordering the defense to pay Glaser's firm $938,458 plus $479,898 in legal fees.
And the harrassment case? Kotick settled with Madvig for $200,000 plus $475,000 in legal expenses.
[Via Los Angeles Times]
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