Lawyers pay $1M and apologize to resolve 'provably false' claims made in sex-abuse suit
Two lawyers have paid at least $1 million and apologized to resolve counterclaims and countersuits brought by two entertainment industry executives in a teen-sex-abuse case that the attorneys say they now know was baseless.
Attorneys Jeff Herman of Florida and Mark Gallagher of Hawaii made the settlement concerning lawsuits filed in federal court in Hawaii in April 2014 by their client Michael Egan, a former child actor and model. The suits were dropped a few months later, according to the Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.).
“Based on what I know now, I believe that I participated in making what I now know to be untrue and provably false allegations against you,” said Herman in his letter to Garth Ancier, a television producer, and David Neuman, who formerly worked for Walt Disney Co.
“I now do not believe that the allegations in the lawsuit were true and accurate,” Gallagher wrote. “I deeply regret the unjustified pain, suffering and significant damage the lawsuit and publicity has caused.”
The men provided evidence, including witness statements, that they were not in Hawaii at the time of the conduct alleged in the original litigation, before it was dismissed, the Hollywood Reporter says.
Variety also has a story.
