The plaintiff has agreed to settle THEIR OWN LAWSUITS by paying me $350k!!! In total, the Plaintiff likely has taken a $1mil loss by choosing to file the two lawsuits against me.

Many have asked about details relating to the lawsuits. I have been hesitant to provide details since the lawsuits were ongoing. But now that we have settled, I feel comfortable providing more details.

The background is, the plaintiff sold me his practice for under $1mil. The asset purchase agreement required that I sign a 10-year lease where the plaintiff was the landlord. The lease situation was highly unusual because (1) the space was originally a single practice, (2) the plaintiff “separated” the single practice into two leasable “spaces” about 6 years ago (about 2 years before I arrived), (3) the plaintiff’s wife leased the other space, (4) I either owned or was leasing all major equipment, (5) my lease made it impossible for the plaintiff’s wife to sell her practice (which ultimately was the source of the dispute). I will add that my lease provided the first right of refusal to (1) purchase the real estate and (2) lease the other space.

All was good for a year until the plaintiff’s wife attempted to sell her practice and came to the realization it was going to be impossible. She had either prospective buyers before the first lawsuit, all declined and when on to purchase other practices. At that time, the plaintiff and his wife colluded together in an attempt to get me to renegotiate my lease (which I had just negotiated one year prior). When I declined to renegotiate, they filed an eviction lawsuit. After the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s wife again attempted to sell her practice with a new broker and again had numerous prospective buyers who all ultimately declined.

Since the lease has an attorney fee provision, they filed a second lawsuit which would not award attorney fees. The plaintiff worked back for me for 5 days during the practice transition. The second lawsuit accused me of improperly terminating his employment contract.

The eviction lawsuit was merit-less and the contract lawsuit was frivolous, although impossible to prove.

Ultimately, the monetary settlement award barely covers my attorney fees. I once remarked that lawsuits are a waste of time and money … this is why I feel that way!!!