Charles Harder

Last updated

Charles Harder
Born
Charles John Harder [1]

(1969-11-09) November 9, 1969 (age 54) [2]
Education University of California, Santa Cruz (BA)
Loyola Marymount University (JD)

Charles John Harder (born November 9, 1969) is an American lawyer at the law firm Harder LLP based in Los Angeles, California. [3]

Contents

Education and early career

Harder graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a bachelor's degree, in 1991. He earned a juris doctor degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, in 1996. [4] After completing law school, Harder served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge A. Andrew Hauk in Los Angeles. [5]

Notable cases

Harder is best known for representing Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) in the Bollea v. Gawker case. [6] [7]

In 2007, Harder represented videogame publisher Ubisoft in a one-week arbitration trial, defeating an $11 million claim by a German videogame producer. [4]

In 2009–2016, Harder represented a number of celebrities over misappropriation of their names and likeness, [8] including Sandra Bullock, [9] George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, [10] Jude Law, [11] Mandy Moore, [12] Liam Neeson, [10] Julia Roberts [9] and Reese Witherspoon. [13] [14] Harder also won ICANN arbitrations for Sandra Bullock, [15] Cameron Diaz, [16] Kate Hudson [17] and Sigourney Weaver [18] .

In 2011, Harder won an $18 million verdict for Cecchi Gori Pictures, and defeated a multi-million dollar counter-claim, after a four-week trial in Los Angeles state court. [19] [20]

In 2017–18, Harder represented Ivan Aguilera, the heir of Mexican pop icon Juan Gabriel, against Univision and Telemundo, in a $100 million defamation suit. [21]

In 2017, on behalf of Harvey Weinstein, Harder threatened to sue the New York Times after the Times published a story about Weinstein's alleged harassment. The lawsuit was not filed, and Harder withdrew from representation of Weinstein the following week. [22]

In 2017, Harder represented First Lady Melania Trump in a defamation case against the Daily Mail , which resulted in a $2.9 million settlement payment to Trump, and a public retraction and apology by the Daily Mail to her. [23] In 2018, he also represented President Donald Trump in legal demand letters sent to political consultant/media executive Steve Bannon and author Michael Wolff. [24] Harder also represented Jared Kushner in connection with a Vanity Fair article covering the 2017 Special Counsel investigation. [25] He represented the Trump campaign in a legal action taken against Omarosa Manigault Newman following the publication of her book, Unhinged . [26]

In 2018, Harder represented Trump in a defamation lawsuit filed by Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford). On October 15, 2018, the U.S. District Court granted an anti-SLAPP motion filed by Harder, dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice and awarding Trump reimbursement of his attorneys fees against Stormy Daniels. [27] On December 11, 2018, the court ordered Stormy Daniels to pay Trump 75% reimbursement of his attorneys fees or $292,052.33, plus a $1000 sanction on Stormy Daniels as well. "The court’s order," Harder said, "along with the court’s prior order dismissing Stormy Daniels’ defamation case against President Trump, together constitute a total victory for the President, and a total defeat for Stormy Daniels in this case." [28] On July 31, 2020, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the U.S. District Court's ruling, in a unanimous 3-0 decision. [29]

In 2019, Harder sent a letter to CNN on behalf of Trump and his campaign, claiming CNN was violating the federal Lanham Act by marketing itself as a news organization. [30]

In 2019, Harder sued Oakley on behalf of US Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, for using his name and image beyond the term permitted by an earlier contract between them. [31]

In 2020, Harder sued VICE Media on behalf of BYD, a multi-billion dollar electric vehicle manufacturer based in China backed by Warren Buffett. [32]

Personal life

Harder bicycled across the US at age 19. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen McDougal</span> American model and actress (born 1971)

Karen McDougal is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year in 1998, and for her alleged 9-month-long affair with Donald Trump before he became president. In 2001, the readers of Playboy voted McDougal the runner-up of "The sexiest Playmate of the 1990s."

Gawker was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers that was based in New York City and focused on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month as of 2015. Founded in 2002, Gawker was the flagship blog for Denton's Gawker Media. Gawker Media also managed other blogs such as Jezebel, io9, Deadspin and Kotaku.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawker Media</span> Former British-American online media company and blog network

Gawker Media LLC was an American online media company and blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was based in New York City. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, as of 2012, Gawker Media was the parent company for seven different weblogs and many subsites under them: Gawker.com, Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Jalopnik, and Jezebel. All Gawker articles are licensed on a Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial license. In 2004, the company renamed from Blogwire, Inc. to Gawker Media, Inc., and to Gawker Media LLC shortly after.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Bloom</span> American lawyer (born 1961)

Lisa Read Bloom is an American attorney known for advising Harvey Weinstein amid various sexual abuse allegations, and for representing women whose sexual harassment claims precipitated the firing of Bill O'Reilly from Fox News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormy Daniels</span> American pornographic actress (born 1979)

Stephanie A. Gregory Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress, director and former stripper. She has won many industry awards and is a member of the NightMoves Hall of Fame, AVN Hall of Fame and XRCO Hall of Fame. In 2009, a recruitment effort led her to consider challenging incumbent David Vitter in the 2010 Senate election in her native Louisiana.

Daniel M. Petrocelli is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and the Chair of the firm’s Trial Practice Committee. Petrocelli is known in part for his work in a 1997 wrongful death civil suit against O. J. Simpson, for representing Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, and for his leading role in defeating the US Department of Justice’s attempt to block the merger of AT&T and Time Warner.

Nik Lamas-Richie is an American Internet personality most prominent in the late 2000s and 2010s. Richie is best known as the founder of controversial gossip website TheDirty.com.

Charles Carlisle Johnson is an American political activist who was a public figure in the years 2013 to 2019. A self-described "investigative journalist", Johnson is often described as an internet troll and has been repeatedly involved in the proliferation and spread of multiple fake news stories. Johnson was owner of the websites GotNews.com, WeSearchr.com, and Freestartr.com, all of which were short-lived. He wrote two books, both published by Encounter Books in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Falzone</span> American journalist

Diana Falzone is an American journalist. Falzone is a contributing reporter for The Daily Beast. and her work has also been seen in Vanity Fair, Vice News and Buzzfeed. She is a former reporter for FoxNews.com and the former host of Fox411. She is a former host of Maxim magazine and Sirius XM Indie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Cohen (lawyer)</span> Lawyer to US President Donald Trump (born 1966)

Michael Dean Cohen is an American lawyer who served as an attorney for former United States president Donald Trump from 2006 to 2018. Cohen served as vice president of the Trump Organization and personal counsel to Trump, often being described as his fixer. Cohen served as co-president of Trump Entertainment and was a board member of the Eric Trump Foundation, a children's health charity. From 2017 to 2018, Cohen was deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Bollea v. Gawker was a lawsuit filed in 2013 in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County, Florida, delivering a verdict on March 18, 2016. In the suit, Terry Gene Bollea, known professionally as Hulk Hogan, sued Gawker Media, publisher of the Gawker website, and several Gawker employees and Gawker-affiliated entities for posting portions of a sex tape of Bollea with Heather Clem, at that time the wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge. Bollea's claims included invasion of privacy, infringement of personality rights, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Prior to trial, Bollea's lawyers said the privacy of many Americans was at stake while Gawker's lawyers said that the case could hurt freedom of the press in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal and business legal affairs of Donald Trump</span>

From the 1970s until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in United States federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes. He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault, with one accusation resulting in him being held civilly liable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations</span>

Donald Trump, the president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s. In June 2019, writer E. Jean Carroll alleged in New York magazine that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996. Two friends of Carroll stated that Carroll had previously confided in them about the incident. Trump called the allegation fiction and denied ever meeting Carroll, despite a photo of them together from 1987 being published by the magazine. In November 2022, Carroll filed a suit against Trump for battery under the Adult Survivors Act. On May 9, 2023, a New York jury in a civil case found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll, but found him not liable for rape. They awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. In July 2023, Judge Kaplan stated that the jury had actually found that Trump had raped Carroll according to the common definition of the word as they had ruled that Trump had forcibly and nonconsensually penetrated Carroll's vagina with his fingers. New York state's definition at the time defined rape as solely nonconsensual penetration of the vagina by a penis. A September 2023 partial summary judgment again found Trump liable for defaming Carroll. On January 26, 2024, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million in damages.

<i>Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press</i> 2017 documentary film by Brian Knappenberger

Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press is a 2017 Netflix documentary directed by Brian Knappenberger. The documentary is themed around the effects of big money on American journalism. The documentary focuses on two incidents: Peter Thiel financing wrestler Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media, and casino owner Sheldon Adelson's secret purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Albert James Daulerio is an American writer and blogger. He is the former editor of Gawker and Deadspin. Daulerio published an excerpt of Hulk Hogan's sex tape, which led to a lawsuit and the bankruptcy and sale of Gawker Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Avenatti</span> American attorney

Michael John Avenatti is an American former attorney currently incarcerated in federal prison for felony fraud and extortion. He is best known for his legal representation of adult film actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against then U.S. President Donald Trump, and his multiple convictions for attempting to extort sports apparel company Nike and defrauding and embezzling settlement money from a series of other clients. In the late 2010s, Avenatti appeared extensively on television and in print as a legal and political commentator, and as a representative for prominent clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal</span> Legal dispute

The Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal involves an alleged one-night sexual encounter between Donald Trump and pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, an alleged conspiracy to cover up the story in the month prior to the 2016 presidential election, and allegations that Trump falsified business records as part of the conspiracy. The story broke in 2018, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels for her silence during Trump's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

Keith M. Davidson is an attorney in Beverly Hills, California. Davidson has represented clients who sought nondisclosure agreement settlements from notable individuals, including Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, and Hulk Hogan. He has also managed professional boxers Manny Pacquiao and James Toney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Wigdor</span> American lawyer

Douglas Holden Wigdor is a founding partner of the law firm Wigdor LLP, and works as a litigator in New York City, specializing in anti-discrimination law. Wigdor is best known for representing seven victims of alleged sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein, the hotel maid in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case, over twenty employees at Fox News in sexual harassment and discrimination cases, and NFL coaches Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton in a 2022 class action lawsuit against the National Football League alleging racist and discriminatory practices against Black coaches.

CrowdJustice is a commercial crowdfunding platform in the United Kingdom and the United States for projects aimed at improving access to the legal system. It was founded in 2014 by Julia Salasky.

References

  1. "Charles John Harder Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
  2. 1 2 Hubbell, Martindale (1999). Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory . Martindale-Hubbell. ISBN   9781561603244.
  3. "Home Page | HARDER LLP". www.harderllp.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Charles J. Harder | HARDER LLP" . Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  5. "Charles J. Harder". hmafirm.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  6. Zengerle, Jason (November 17, 2016). "The Lawyer Who Killed Gawker Isn't Done Yet". GQ. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  7. Harder, Charles (April 5, 2016). "Hulk Hogan's Lead Lawyer Explains How His Team Beat "Arrogant," "Defiant" Gawker (Guest Column)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  8. Gardner, Eriq (September 22, 2016). "Ailes Media Litigator Charles Harder on His Improbable Rise With Clients Melania Trump and Hulk Hogan". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Sandra Bullock Settles Lawsuit Over 'Bullock Watch'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Bradley Cooper & Liam Neeson Team Up for Lawsuit". E! Online. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  11. "Jude Law Suing Mad at Fireplace Maker". E! Online. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  12. "Diane, Michelle, Sandra & Mandy Feeling Very Un-PC". E! Online. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  13. "Reese Witherspoon Moves Closer to Trial Against Sears Over Imitation Jewelry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  14. "Hollywood Docket: Reese Witherspoon Settles Imitation Jewelry Lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  15. "Sandra Bullock v Network Operations Center c/o Alberta Hot Rods". www.adrforum.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  16. "Cameron Diaz v Network Operations Center c/o Alberta Hot Rods". www.adrforum.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  17. "Kate Hudson v Fei Zhu". www.adrforum.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  18. "Sigourney Weaver v Stephen Gregory aka 'THIS DOMAIN NAME IS FOR SALE'". www.adrforum.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  19. "Meet Charles Harder, the Gawker killer now working for Melania Trump and Roger Ailes". Newsweek. October 14, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  20. Johnson, Ted (March 29, 2011). "Cecchi Gori awarded $15 mil in suit". Variety. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  21. "Family of Late Mexican Superstar Says Univision Defamed Them". May 25, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  22. "Harvey Weinstein's Attorney Exits Without Filing Threatened N.Y. Times Lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter. October 15, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  23. "Melania Trump Nets Millions, Apology in Daily Mail Settlement | New York Law Journal". New York Law Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  24. "Trump attorney sends Bannon cease and desist letter over 'disparaging' comments". ABC News. January 4, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  25. Sherman, Gabriel (October 17, 2017). "Kushner Adds Charles Harder to Legal Team As Pressure Mounts". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  26. Schwartz, Brian (August 14, 2018). "Trump campaign hires Hulk Hogan lawyer Charles Harder for arbitration action against Omarosa Manigault Newman". CNBC. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  27. "Trump scores a 'total victory' after federal judge dismisses Stormy Daniels' lawsuit and orders her to pay his legal fees". INSIDER. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  28. Richardson, Matt (December 11, 2018). "Stormy Daniels ordered to pay President Trump $292G in legal fees". Fox News.
  29. Gerstein, Josh (July 31, 2020). "Trump scores win over Stormy Daniels' libel suit". POLITICO. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  30. "Trump threatens to sue CNN, seeks 'substantial' payment over damages: letter". Reuters. October 18, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  31. "Shaun White Sues Oakley for Allegedly Using Him to Promote Sunglasses After Their Deal Expired". finance.yahoo.com. July 3, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  32. admin (April 27, 2020). "BYD files federal defamation lawsuit against VICE". The Fourth Revolution. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  33. Pierce, Jacob (November 6, 2018). "How Charles Harder Went From UCSC Democrat to Trump's Top Lawyer".

Further reading