Dismissal of My Lawsuit

The Real Reasons Why I Dismissed My Lawsuit 

Update as of 10-15-2018 -- The case has been dismissed by both parties.  As we have agreed to move forward, the dismissed case will remain confidential.

-------

It would be reasonable to believe that I dismissed my lawsuit against Victor Alfieri and Bondolini Productions because we reached a mutually agreeable settlement. That is not the case. This is what really happened...

Just a week after Victor and I were deposed we had our mediation scheduled. I did not want to mediate with Victor as he had told lie after lie during his deposition. I believed that the mediation would be a waste of money and time. Victor and his attorney Roger Muse were one hour late to the mediation. We were paying the mediator an hourly fee and I could not afford to spend extra time "mediating" especially if we were not going to get anywhere.

I will not discuss the particulars of that mediation because we promised to keep it confidential. I will respect that oath of confidentiality.  What I can say is that I believed that we had reached a resolution to have the movie completed and distributed and there were also promises of public statements to resolve some misunderstandings. What I did not know was that by settling in mediation I would be bound to "secrecy." I would not be able to ever talk about what happened.

I remember talking to my two attorneys about my concerns about the "tentative" settlement I had reached with Alfieri. They both confirmed with me that if I signed a settlement, one of the clauses would be to not take future legal action or to not publicly talk about this case or these facts again. I would be tying my own hands.

This settlement felt really wrong to me. I knew in my heart that by signing a settlement with Victor Alfieri I would be selling myself out.  I communicated this to my attorneys. What I heard from them shocked and scared me. They told me that if I did  not sign the settlement they could no longer represent me because it would be unethical and unprofessional. They explained to me that when we all shook hands after mediation, that was just as official as signing the agreement.

I was faced with these four options:

1. Signing the settlement with Victor and tying my hands forever.
2. Representing myself during the trial and the rest of the case - a very scary option.
3. Hiring another attorney - not really an option, as I had no money left.
4. Dismissing my lawsuit without signing any settlement.

At this point I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I did not want to fight any longer. On the other hand, I did not want to be forced to lie or cover the truth because I had a "settlement." So I decided to dismiss the lawsuit without signing any agreement with Victor. This way, at least, I would still have freedom of "speech."

So, why would I agree to a press release like this????

"I have dismissed my lawsuit against Victor Alfieri and I would like to publicly retract the fraud allegations I made.   These statements were made by me after having been misled by a third party.  Once Victor and I met to review the books and bank statements, it became evident that I had been lied to by this third party.

   No money was ever stolen. Victor Alfieri did not commit fraud. I have since had an opportunity to view the film and I am very pleased with the job Victor has done.  Since we have settled our dispute, Victor and I have agreed to continue working together to complete the film as originally planned." - Published on Dec 20, 2012.

More posts to come...

Disclaimer -- As of October 15, 0218, all legal issues have been resolved. This resolution was reached during arbitration. There are no pending issues related to fraud or theft. The resolution was mutually agreeable. There will be no more posts written about this story.