![Text Box: In a letter dated January 28, 2004 Brent L. Wilson, an attorney for Willie Gary, demanded that statements published in news releases on the Employees for Christ website be removed or legal action would be taken against Marietta Goodman and Sharron Mangum, lead plaintiffs in the $1.5 billion dollar class action lawsuit filed against Gary, his firm and Major Broadcast Cable.
The letter commented, “Your statement that Mr. Gary somehow influenced her [Gloretta Hall] appointment to the position of Chair and your inference that Ms. Hall actually influenced the Florida Bar’s investigation are false, malicious and directly attack their respective reputations. Accordingly, we demand that you retract these statements immediately.” The January 20, 2004 Employees for Christ Media Release reported that in December 2003 Gloretta Hall, a partner in Willie Gary’s law firm, became the first African American woman to chair the Florida Board of Bar Examiners which is a fact that the letter confirms.
November 2003 a $1.5 billion class action lawsuit filed in Atlanta claims that Mr. Gary “. . . used Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson, and Sperando, P.C. and Major Broadcast Cable Network as an illegal racketeering enterprise to extort $40 million from Coca-Cola” . . . “as part of a settlement package in exchange for Plaintiffs permanently dropping their claims against The Coca-Cola Company, and Defendants [Willie Gary] agreeing never to pursue litigation against The Coca-Cola Company again in the future. Thirteen clients . . . did not know about the $40 million dollars at the time they signed documents to permanently dismiss and release their claims against The Coca-Cola Company.” Mr. Gary represented seventeen of the opt-outs from the Coca-Cola $192.5 million dollar class action settlement. Four of these opt-outs, Gregory Allen Clark, Motisolah Abdallah, Ajibola Laosebikan and Wanda Williams had been class representatives in the initial discrimination lawsuit filed in 1999 against Coca-Cola.
Ms. Goodman and Ms. Mangum state, “Mr. Gary could have filed a motion to dismiss our lawsuit as a result of the Florida Bar ruling in his favor. He did not. This is nothing but a scare tactic designed to intimidate, threaten and harass of which we are prepared to address in the event legal implications arise. There is no doubt that we are going forward with our claim.” January 2004 the Florida Bar found Gary innocent of any wrongdoing.](image769.gif)
![Text Box: Motisolah Abdallah and Dana Allen join the Florida Bar complaint filed against prominent Florida attorney Willie E. Gary and other members of his firm. Marietta Goodman and Sharron Mangum initiated the complaint against Gary, which is under inquiry by the Florida State Bar as of June 19, 2003 as reported by Atlanta Journal Constitution. Gary is required to provide the complainants with a written response within 15 days, which expired on July 4. “We have yet to receive responses from anyone within the Gary Firm,” state the complainants. According to the Florida State Bar guidelines, Gary has another 15-day grace period before the inquiry escalates to the next level.
The four complainants allege that Gary misrepresented their interests in discrimination claims against Coca-Cola when he did not disclose Major Broadcast Cable network’s contract with the beverage giant. Gary is majority owner of MBC with partners, boxing champion Evander Holyfield, baseball great Cecil Fielder, famed Jackson 5 Marlon Jackson and broadcast veteran Alvin James. The 10 counts filed include: incompetence, false statements, criminal conduct, fraud, conflict of interest, harassment, malicious injury, threatening and intimidating behavior, and sexual improprieties.
Motisolah Abdallah, a former lead plaintiff in the Abdallah vs. Coca-Cola $192.5 million discrimination settlement, joined the complaint to seek justice for the emotional trauma suffered at the hands of Willie Gary and members of his firm. Her complaint alleges, “The severe badgering and harassment caused diminished mental capacity to the point where I could not make the appropriate judgment in determining the fate of my complaint against Coca-Cola.” She states, “I was threatened and harassed relentlessly! I am still trying to figure out how 17 clients [according to the Gary Firm] did not have credible cases, four of which were lead plaintiffs in the $192.5 million dollar settlement.” Her complaint also alleges sexual harassment. In one particular incident Ms. Abdallah states that Gary left her a very suggestive voice message on her answering service. She recalls him stating, “Baby, this is Willie Gary. It‘s 2 a.m. I‘m at the Ritz Hotel. My wife is with me, but I can get away.”
Dana Allen, a joint plaintiff in the $1.5 billion complaint filed with Marietta Goodman in June 2000 is seeking justice for the mishandling of her case and the poor legal representation received. She alleges, “King and Spalding attorneys deposed me for six hours about my personal life and Shields McManus [a partner in Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson & Sperando] did nothing to stop their vicious attacks against me, my family and other relatives.” Her complaint also alleges, “Key witnesses were never deposed; Marietta Goodman’s witnesses were deposed in my case, and I was never notified that my case had been dismissed.” Ms. Allen states that she learned of these actions from a colleague who was reviewing Gary client’s cases online.](image515.gif)
|
Employees for Christ |
![Text Box: Friday, November 7, 2003 a $1.5 billion dollar class action lawsuit (1:03-CV-3387) was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against prominent Florida attorney, Willie E. Gary and several other members of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson, and Sperando, P.C. The two women that initiated the Florida Bar complaint in July, Marietta Goodman and Sharron Mangum, are lead plaintiffs in this action.
The plaintiffs alleges that Mr. Gary used Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson, and Sperando, P.C. and Major Broadcast Cable Network as an illegal racketeering enterprise to extort $40 million from Coca-Cola in settlement of their claims against Coca-Cola after opting out of the class action settlement, and contracting Mr. Gary and his firm for legal representation.
The complaint states, “. . . without the knowledge and consent of PLAINTIFFS . . . The Coca-Cola Company secretly entered into an agreement through Major Broadcast Cable whereby DEFENDANTS/ATTORNEYS [Mr. Gary and others] would receive $40 million dollars as part of a settlement package in exchange for PLAINTIFFS permanently dropping their claims against The Coca-Cola Company” without receiving a dime more than what they had gotten had they opted into the class action settlement.
Ms. Goodman and Ms. Mangum state that they nor the other fifteen Coca-Cola clients represented by Mr. Gary know about this scam until recently, and in fact did not, receive any of these monies. In fact, several of Mr. Gary’s Coca-Cola clients received less than what they would have gotten if they had opted into the class action settlement.](image356.gif)
![Text Box: Thursday, January 15, 2004 the Florida Bar notified claimants Motisolah Abdalla, Marietta Goodman, Dana Allen and Sharron Mangum that they found ". . . no evidence of wrongdoing" against Willie E. Gary and his law firm, Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson, and Sperando, P.C.
June 2003 Marietta Goodman and Sharron Mangum, and later joined by Motisolah Abdalla and Dana Allen, filed a bar complaint alleging that Gary ". . . did not exercise competence and due diligence in representing his clients’ interests, and did not disclose his dealings with Coca-Cola." Other allegations against Gary included fraud, sexual harassment, false statements, threatening and intimidating behavior.
A recent $1.5 billion class action lawsuit filed November 2003 in Atlanta adds to these claims that Mr. Gary ". . . used Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson, and Sperando, P.C. and Major Broadcast Cable Network as an illegal racketeering enterprise to extort $40 million from Coca-Cola in settlement of their [his clients] claims against Coca-Cola." Mr. Gary represented seventeen of the opt-outs from the Coca-Cola class action settlement.
When asked if they would end their pursuit for justice in light of the Florida Bar’s ruling, Ms. Goodman and Ms. Mangum laughing, proclaimed simultaneously, "Why should we give up now?! We’re winning!" Ms. Goodman elaborates, "Just a couple of weeks after our case had been turned over to the 19th circuit of the Florida Supreme Court, Gloretta Hall, a partner with the Gary Firm, was appointed to the bar. For Willie Gary to infiltrate the Florida Bar speaks volumes of just how guilty and fearful he is of our case." December 2003 Gloretta Hall became the first African American woman to chair the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. The board oversees the admission of all attorneys who wish to practice in the state of Florida.
Ms. Mangum adds, "Just weeks ago Marietta and I were talking to two attorneys in the 19th Circuit of the Florida Supreme Court. We were told that our case had been forwarded from the Florida Bar and escalated to the 19th Circuit because of the incredible amount of evidence against Gary. Yet, soon after the appointment of Gloretta Hall, our case was dismissed. From my viewpoint, it would have been better for Mr. Gary if the ruling was in our favor. At least then, justice would have been swift. But now, Willie Gary and Coca-Cola have given us the platform to advance our cause, which is to draw attention to a national epidemic on the rise of plaintiffs’ attorneys entering into illegal and fraudulent agreements with defending companies for their own financial gain."
We expect to hear more from Ms. Goodman and Ms. Mangum as they continue their pursuit for justice. Stay tuned to Employees for Christ for more details about their case and the growing national epidemic.](image492.gif)
|
Tune in for a weekly release of audio and documented evidence supporting these individual claims. See Calendar for specific dates. |
|
Employees for Christ |
|
Tune in for a weekly release of audio and documented evidence supporting these individual claims. See Calendar for specific dates. |