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Billionaire financier Leon Black is suing a law firm over explosive tweets he says hastened his exit from Apollo Global Management, accusing the company of using False accusations were made to discredit him in hopes of charging “exorbitant” fees.
The complaint seeks to turn around Wigdor, a company that has made a name for itself over the past decade by representing women in #MeToo-related claims against men, such as disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein .
Blake accused Wigdor of maliciously suing a civil lawsuit on behalf of Blake’s former mistress, Guzel Ganieva, who accused him of abusing her during their relationship and then accusing her of racketeering, damaged her reputation.
Ganeva first made her allegations public in March 2021 in a social media post that she allegedly wrote with Vigdor’s “encouragement and assistance,” the indictment said. That same month, he resigned from Apollo.
Her assault allegations formed the centerpiece of a lawsuit the company filed on her behalf later that year. Black paid $158 million for tax advice and other professional services to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after his longtime relationship with the late sex offender was revealed.
Blake filed the lawsuit against Vigdor in New York state court on Monday, saying the law firm continued to pursue Ganieva’s complaint “even though it knew the allegations were clearly false” and subsequently “threatened to sue him if he did so.” Baseless, unsubstantiated lawsuits will be filed.” Did not bow to Vigdor’s exorbitant demands.”
“[Wigdor]has a unique business model: It threatens to sue defendants with scandalous charges that can only be avoided with a large settlement, for which Wigdor takes a substantial commission,” the complaint states.
Vigdor’s partner, Jenny Christensen, called Blake’s lawsuit “frivolous” and said it was “designed to scare and warn other women and the attorneys who may represent them.” “Sadly, when someone like Leon Black is paying an hourly rate, there are always lawyers willing to come up with crap like this,” she added.
In May, Ganieva’s complaint against Blake was dismissed after a judge concluded she lost her right to sue when she accepted millions of dollars in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement.
Black had earlier sought to cast her lawsuit as part of a conspiracy with former Apollo executive Josh Harris to unseat him as the company’s CEO in a separate lawsuit. But a federal judge last year rejected that claim, calling the theory “conclusive, vague, indirect, clever and lovely.”
The billionaire is still battling legal claims from two other women represented by Vigdor, who both claim they were attacked by Blake at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
Blake’s attorneys have sought to challenge the credibility of the plaintiffs, including a pseudonymous Jane Doe who, according to Wigdow, has Down syndrome and autism but has a developmental disability. Comparable to a 12-year-old child.
Private investigators working for Black’s attorneys visited Doe’s mother, father, sisters, aunt and cousin last week, as well as the father of her youngest child, according to an affidavit filed Monday in federal court.
Black’s lawyer said the visits were “a legitimate step in the investigation of allegations he knew to be false.”
Some members of the Doe family have expressed doubts about several central claims of the lawsuit, including claims about her personal history, they said.
Court documents filed after the Wigdol law firm learned of the visits last week said investigators were hired to “harass and intimidate” Doe.
Vigdor added that the visits were a “blatant attempt to send a strong and disgusting message (to the Department of Energy) that she would “keep her immediate family safe…” if she continued to make claims against Blake. . . in danger”.
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