Neil Papiano
Neil Papiano was an American lawyer, and managing partner of Iverson, Yoakum, Papiano & Hatch. He received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Stanford University, the latter in 1957, and an LL.B. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1961. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1961.
In February 2014, Papiano was declared "not eligible to practice law" by order of the State Bar Court of California.
According to court papers filed by his attorney, Papiano had been diagnosed with dementia and also had financial problems. Papiano's current mental state was outlined in a letter attached to his attorneys' court papers, in which Dr. Helena Chang Chui stated that he had moderate to severe dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.
Legal career
''Finley v. Kuhn''
In the mid-1970s, Papiano was hired by Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley to file a restraint-of-trade lawsuit against Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. In the spring of 1976, Finley commenced a "fire sale" of the team's highly paid players, including Reggie Jackson. When Finley sold Vida Blue to the New York Yankees and Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Boston Red Sox, Kuhn voided the sales as being contrary to the "best interest of baseball."Papiano and Finley lost the case, as the court ruled that "the Commissioner has the authority to determine whether any act, transaction, or practice is not within the best interest of baseball, and upon such determination, to take whatever preventative or remedial action he deems appropriate, whether or not the act, transaction, or practice complies with the Major league Rules or involves moral turpitude." Charles O. Finley vs. Bowie Kuhn, 7th Circuit, 1978. The judge stated that the question before him was not whether he agreed with Kuhn's action, but whether Kuhn had the power to act.
Elizabeth Taylor vs. the ''National Enquirer''
In 1990, Papiano represented Elizabeth Taylor in a lawsuit against the National Enquirer for libel and defamation of character. Papiano and Taylor cited two articles, one that said she had brought liquor into her hospital room when she was ill and another that said she was suffering from lupus. While the case was pending, Papiano complained to The New York Times about the EnquirerPapiano filed a second suit for Taylor against the National Enquirer in the mid-1990s. That suit alleged that a March 1993 article about Taylor and husband Larry Fortensky's alleged involvement in a property dispute had damaged their reputation and invaded their privacy. The suit was unsuccessful, and in November 1996 Superior Court Judge Fumiko Wasserman ordered Taylor and Fortensky to pay $432,600 to cover the Enquirer's legal costs.
Papiano also represented Taylor in 1995 in an unsuccessful effort to "quash" an NBC mini-series about Taylor's life, and in connection with the dissolution of her marriage to Larry Fortensky in 1996.
Steve Garvey
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned an arbitrator's ruling that found the San Diego Padres' refusal to extend Steve Garvey's contract beyond the 1987 season was not the result of collusion between club owners. The ruling entitled Garvey to more than $3 million, plus interest, from a $280 million fund created by baseball team owners in 1990 for players affected by the collusion.In the federal appeals court, Garvey won the case of collusion against baseball owners, with the help of a former Padres president who came forward after a decade to support the former first baseman's claim after an arbitration decision found that major-league owners agreed to hold down signings and salaries of free agents from 1985 through 1987.
Joan Collins vs. Globe International
Papiano also represented Joan Collins in a suit against the publisher of Globe. The tabloid newspaper published a story in 1991 that included photographs taken with a high technology lens of Collins and a male guest and their conduct while on private property. In addition to claims for invasion of privacy and defamation, the suit filed by Papiano on Collins' behalf alleged that the taking of the photographs and the publication and distribution of the article were "racketeering" activities and attempted to allege a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act cause of action. In August 1992, the California Court of Appeal directed the lower court to dismiss the RICO claim. Globe International, Inc. v. Superior Court , 9 Cal. App. 4th 393.''Locke v. Warner Bros. Inc''
Papiano represented actress-turned-director Sondra Locke in a lawsuit against Warner Bros., accusing the studio and Clint Eastwood of conspiring to keep her out of work. Locke's lawsuit alleged that after Eastwood ended his relationship with her, he settled her palimony claim in part by telling Locke he had set up a three-year, $1.5 million development deal for her at Warner Bros. After the studio rejected all of her projects, she accused the studio of conspiring to keep her from directing and producing as a favor to Eastwood, one of Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1999, the suit was settled, though the terms of Locke's settlement were not disclosed.Peggy Garrity vs. Sondra Locke
Papiano defended Locke in a litigious fall-out with her previous attorney, Peggy Garrity, who sued the ex-star in June 1999 for cutting her out of $1 million in fees. Garrity also sought $5 million in punitive damages, citing Locke's loose relationship with the truth. In October 1999, the suit was settled in Garrity's favor.MTA bus strike
In 2000, Papiano served as a mediator in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus strike. Rev. Jesse Jackson was also involved in the negotiations to end the bus strike.Walter Matthau Estate vs. Columbia Pictures
In May 2002, Papiano filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Estate of Walter Matthau, seeking $1 million from Columbia Pictures for payments allegedly due for Matthau's work on the 1969 film Cactus Flower and the 1978 film California Suite. The lawsuit alleged breach of contract and fraud.In 2007, Papiano represented Matthau's son in a suit with the William Morris Agency, which was Matthau's agent from 1960-2000. The agency alleged that, during Matthau's lifetime, he had paid the agency ten percent of his income on contracts negotiated or procured by the agency. The agency also alleged that, after Matthau's death, his wife continued making the payments. When Matthau's son succeeded to his father's interests in 2004, the agency alleged that he ceased making payments. Papiano successfully argued to the Court of Appeal that the arbitration agreement signed by Matthau with the agency was not binding on his son.
Laffit Pincay suit against ambulance company
In 2007, Papiano represented jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. in a lawsuit against an ambulance company alleging that Pincay suffered two broken bones in his neck during a riding accident in 2003, and that the ambulance company failed to follow appropriate procedures when its employees allowed Pincay to walk under his own power to the ambulance. Pincay was awarded $2.7 million. After the award, Papiano said: "This was a justifiable result for the circumstances and the lack of treatment, the jury found that with proper treatment, Laffit would still be riding today."Libel suit by Napa priest
In 2004, Papiano filed a libel action on behalf of a Napa priest in a lawsuit filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles stemming from an accusation to the Church that the Monsignor had molested a grade-school girl more than 30 years earlier in Southern California, even though he had never been criminally charged. The libel action was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the woman who made the accusations, as well as the woman's lawyer and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a national advocacy group for priest sex abuse victims. Papiano said of the priest: "We're defending his honor." The defendants contended that the libel action was intended to silence victims of priest abuse, a move they said contradicted the U.S. bishops' invitation to victims to come forward. The national director of SNAP said of the suit filed by Papiano:"It's clearly an intimidation tactic." Papiano said that his client wanted the woman, the law firm and SNAP to drop their allegations of abuse and issue apologies. "All they have to do is just walk away now", Papiano was quoted as saying. But if the case progressed, Papiano said he would incur costs that he would attempt to recover from the plaintiffs.
In May 2004, Judge Jon M. Mayeda threw out the libel lawsuit as to the Survivors Network. The regional director of the Survivors Network, Mary Grant, noted at the time: "Church leaders for too long have been allowed to isolate victims, blame them as though the crime was their fault.... This is a public safety issue and we're not going to be silent about it." Grant called tho woman a "brave survivor" and said that because the priest remained in active ministry, "we are worried about the safety of youngsters around him." Papiano noted in court that Alzugaray was cleared by two church investigations. Papiano asserted that his client "is not a molester. He has never been a molester" and added that the judge's decision would be appealed.
In September 2004, the libel suit against the woman's lawyer was also stricken by the court, a decision which was subsequently affirmed by the California Court of Appeal.
In September 2006, the Survivors Network filed a lawsuit accusing Papiano and the priest of malicious prosecution.
In July 2007, the Roman Catholic Archiocese of Los Angeles settled the case. Papiano said the Archdiocese reached settlement in his case without his client's permission. Papiano told the Associated Press: "Here's a good man, a real good man who has always been wonderful to the church who just gets left out of this." At the time of the settlement, Cardinal Roger Mahony made a public apology, saying: "There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them. The one thing I wish I could give the victims... I cannot."