NEWS

Back in April lawyer Jeff Herman announced that he was determined to confront a underage sex abuse problem in Hollywood he believes exists, starting with a lawsuit against Bryan Singer on behalf of a man called Michael F. Egan, who claimed the X-Men director abused him as a teenager.

Herman sounded like a man on a mission – indeed many suggested that perhaps Herman was so convinced there was a major problem in Hollywood with people abusing teens, that he hadn’t spent enough time considering the merits of his actual case.

Now things have changed dramatically. Three of the four defendants named in suits related to Singer’s in Hawaii have been withdrawn, and Singer himself has been dropped from another suit Herman helped launch on behalf of another man.

Today it’s been revealed that Herman has dropped Egan as a client completely and will no longer represent him in the case against Singer. He released a statement reading, “We are in the process of withdrawing from representing Mr. Egan in all his cases and have no further comment concerning his matters at this time. We cannot comment on any actual or purported documents that may or may not be or reflect privileged or confidential communications. We decline to speak about any other clients we may or may not have represented.”

The news follows reports that Herman attempted to settle the case for a relatively small amount, but that Egan refused to sign, even though it was becoming increasingly clear there was little chance of them winning, and that any settlement money Singer agreed to pay would simply be to get rid of the case.

The director’s lawyer states to THR, “As Mr. Egan and his now ex-lawyers know, a legitimate claim in this type of case can run into the millions of dollars, so their willingness to resolve it for such a relatively low figure demonstrates their total lack of confidence in their chances for success. This was their way of trying to save face after an unsuccessful attempted shakedown of Bryan Singer. Let us be clear, this in no way changes the fact that Bryan Singer is innocent of these unsubstantiated lies.”

Technically Egan’s lawsuit against Singer and a newer suit he launched against former Disney TV president David Neuman are still in motion, but without a lawyer it’s unclear whether Egan will be able to progress them. There is also now a lawsuit against Egan, Herman and attorney Michael Gallagher for malicious prosecution and abuse of process, filed by producer Garth Ancier, who was one of the other men named in the initial sex abuse suits. That will presumably still go ahead whether Herman has dropped Egan or not.