Gregory Aldisert has handled a wide variety of business and entertainment litigation. He has a reputation for litigating cases aggressively and efficiently. He strives to position a case for early resolution and to find business solutions to complex legal problems.
Mr. Aldisert successfully defended Sanctuary Records against right of publicity, trademark, and copyright claims filed by the Beach Boys’ Mike Love stemming from UK’s Mail On Sunday promotional giveaway of a Brian Wilson CD, and obtained a substantial attorneys’ fee award on behalf of Sanctuary. Mike Love v. Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., 611 F.3d 601 (9th Cir. 2010).
Mr. Aldisert has handled several disputes involving the diamond industry, including the successful defense through trial and appeal of wholesale diamond dealers’ purchase of rare diamonds in Spain against ownership claims by Swiss and New York dealers. He has represented diamond dealers in Israel, Lebanon, New York and Los Angeles. He also handles cases involving fine art.
He recently won a seven-figure fraud claim in an arbitration arising out of the purchase of real estate in Bel Air and obtained an attorneys’ fee award for his client.
He currently represents an elderly buyer of life insurance who intended to resell the policy on the secondary market used to buy and sell life insurance policies, but the market collapsed and the policy became worthless. There is a pending arbitration and lawsuit involving claims against the bank that financed the premium payments and now seeks repayment of the loan and against the insurance agent who arranged the transaction. The Wall Street Journal wrote about this matter on February 2, 2011.
Mr. Aldisert has handled several cases involving merchandising brands targeted to teens and young adults. He recently settled claims on behalf of the creator of the Skelanimals brand against a brand management company. He also settled a case involving a dispute over the merchandising rights to the Boondock Saints brand. In a case of first impression years ago, he successfully defended claims for interference with contract relating to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers brand on the ground that the contract was voidable so that there could be no actionable interference. PMC Inc. v. Saban Entertainment, 45 Cal.App.4th 579 (1996).
Mr. Aldisert obtained a substantial arbitration award on behalf of Newmarket Films against Mel Gibson’s company, Icon Distributions, in connection with the distribution of the motion picture The Passion of the Christ. In a separate federal court action, he obtained the dismissal of Regal Cinemas’ claims against Newmarket relating to the exhibition of Passion. He has handled several Independent Film and Television Alliance arbitrations (formerly American Film Market Association) on behalf of both producers and distributors.
He co-tried the first Anna Nicole Smith trial against Pierce Marshall in United States Bankruptcy Court based on a tortious interference claim resulting in a judgment of $475 million on her behalf. Vickie Lynn Marshall v. E. Pierce Marshall, 253 Bank. Rptr. 550 (C.D. Cal. 2000) and 257 Bankr. Rptr. 35 (C.D. Cal. 2000).
Mr. Aldisert has successfully defended several class action lawsuits based on alleged violations of consumer protection statutes. He represented The Sports Club Company in class suits alleging violations of the Contracts for Health Studio Services Act, the Unruh Act and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. He represented One World Network Integrated Technology in a class action alleging a violation of Business & Professions Code §17200 for unfair business practices. He represented Oakwood Worldwide in a class action alleging violations of the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act.
He has represented a variety of celebrities both on the plaintiff’s side and defendant’s side, including Jennifer Lopez, Mike Tyson, Quentin Tarantino, Brian Wilson, Wayne Gretsky, and Luc Besson. He has successfully represented producers and several studios, including Miramax Films, Warner Bros. and RKO Pictures, involving the motion pictures My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Boondock Saints, Broken Flowers, Waco: The Rules of Engagement, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, The Commitments, among others.
As a “lawyer’s lawyer,” Mr. Aldisert has handled a variety of legal malpractice, conflict of interest and malicious prosecution cases on behalf of several prominent law firms.
He has handled cases involving trade secrets, trademark, employment, real estate, and Internet privacy. He has handled defamation cases on behalf of the owner of the National Enquirer and the reporter Wayne Satz who covered the McMartin pre-school investigation. Satz v. Superior Court (Virginia McMartin), 225 Cal.App.3d 1525 (1990).
Mr. Aldisert is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S. 1981 Phi Beta Kappa) and the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D. 1984).