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There was an abuse in the sixties for the negotiation. Now Bob Dylan has achieved an important legal victory: A US Court of Appeal confirmed fines against two lawyers on August 13 who had strained a spectacular but quickly withdrawn lawsuit against the Maestro.
Serious allegations from the 1960s
In 2021, the lawyers Daniel W. Isaacs and Peter J. Gleason, called an anonymous plaintiff, called JC, raised serious allegations of abuse against Dylan, who are said to have taken place in the legendary Hotel Chelsea in Midtown Manhattan in the 1960s.
Dylan had rejected the allegations harsh at the time. Music historians quickly doubted the plausibility of the allegations. Also because the young star at that time was demonstrably on tour in the time.
Lament is withdrawn
Hardly a year later, the lawsuit was dropped after Dylan’s lawyers pointed out serious procedural defects: the applicant had deleted evidence and her lawyers had refused to support the evidence several times.
In his decision, the Court of Appeal praised Dylan’s lawyers that they found their own research that important emails were held back by the applicant. The judges emphasized that despite multiple and “emphatic warnings” of the responsible judge, these findings only came to light through their own initiative.
Court confirms sanctions against lawyers
The now confirmed sanctions against the lawyers – $ 5,000 against ISAACs and $ 3,000 against Gleason – are rather symbolic, according to Dylan’s team and only accounted for a fraction of the costs caused by the defense against the allegations.
Dylan was confronted with “hideous and false accusations” for almost a year, according to his lawyers, while Isaacs and Gleason had systematically resisted judicial education.
Lawyers reject allegations
In their defense, the lawyers said they tried to persuade their “stubborn” client for cooperation and called the punishment “obviously unjust”. Gleason criticized the decision as an expression of a system that gave large law firms like Gibson Dunn – which Dylan represented – advantages. He announced that he would continue to proceed legally against the judgment.
Dylan’s lawyer Brian Ascher rejected the allegations as “pure losing rhetoric” and emphasized that any conflicts of interest had long since been rejected by the court. “Mr. Dylan was confronted with the most hideous allegations for almost a year,” said Ascher. “Now the lawyers are trying to pull themselves out of the affair without consequences – that will not be possible.”