Leon Black drops racketeering claims against law firm Wigdor; Quinn Emanuel exits - Reuters
Leon Black, Chairman, CEO and Director, Apollo Global Management, LLC, speaks at the Milken Institute's 21st Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
The company and law firm names shown above are generated automatically based on the text of the article. We are improving this feature as we continue to test and develop in beta. We welcome feedback, which you can provide using the feedback tab on the right of the page.
(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Leon Black has dropped the Wigdor LLP law firm as a defendant against civil racketeering claims in his federal defamation lawsuit against a former model who accused him of rape, and no longer retains the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to represent him there.
The changes were disclosed in Black's amended complaint filed on Monday night in Manhattan federal court against Guzel Ganieva, with whom the former Apollo Global Management Inc chief executive has admitted to having had a consensual 6-1/2-year relationship, and the Wigdor firm.
Black also added as defendants Apollo co-founder Josh Harris, who he accused of helping spread Ganieva's "lies" in a plot to oust him from the private equity firm, and Steven Rubenstein, a public relations executive who Black accused of aiding Harris' efforts.
The amended complaint accused both men of engaging in an illegal civil racketeering conspiracy with Ganieva.
Black has forcefully denied Ganieva's rape and sexual abuse claims, and accused her of extortion.
His original complaint last Oct. 28 also accused the Wigdor firm of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, and with Ganieva in a "criminal enterprise." That language is not part of the amended complaint.
Black sued Ganieva four months after she sued him in a New York state court, accusing him of defamation and subjecting her to sexual violence.
Jeanne Christensen, a lawyer for Ganieva at the Wigdor firm, in a statement on Tuesday questioned why Black "suddenly" dropped the racketeering claim against the firm, and let Quinn Emanuel exit the case two weeks after the Wigdor firm had asked the presiding judge to impose sanctions.
"The legal community should be outraged at such a knowing perversion of our legal system," Christensen said.
Representatives for Harris and Rubenstein have denied Black's claims against their respective clients, and said neither man had relationships or dealings with Ganieva.
"While the amended complaint made for an interesting read, it changes nothing: these allegations are desperate and completely false," Harris' spokesman Jonathan Rosen said in a statement on Tuesday.
Evan Farber of Loeb & Loeb, who represents Rubenstein, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday after business hours.
Ganieva is represented separately in the federal case by Kevin Mintzer at the Law Office of Kevin Mintzer, while the Wigdor firm is represented there by Janice DiGennaro and Max Gershenoff of Rivkin Radler.
No lawyer for Harris has yet appeared in the federal case.
Black's amended complaint was submitted by Susan Estrich of the law firm Estrich Goldin, who along with Quinn Emanuel began representing him in October.
Estrich also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday after business hours.
In early 2021, Black stepped down as Apollo's chairman and chief executive after an outside independent review found he had paid the late financier Jeffrey Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning, though he was not involved in Epstein's criminal activities.
Black has publicly regretted his involvement with Epstein.
The case is Black v Ganieva et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 21-08824.
For Black: Susan Estrich of Estrich Goldin
For Ganieva: Kevin Mintzer of the Law Office of Kevin Mintzer
For Wigdor LLP: Janice DiGennaro and Max Gershenoff of Rivkin Radler
For Harris: Not known
For Rubenstein: Evan Farber of Loeb & Loeb
source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/leon-black-drops-racketeering-claims-against-law-firm-wigdor-quinn-emanuel-exits-2022-01-26/
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.