Winner Taylor Hicks may have crooned his last soulful tune on “American Idol,” but for attorney Jeff Valle and his client Adam Pick, the fun is just beginning.

The Valle & Associates LLP partner and his client have sued American Idol Productions Inc. and Fremantle Media of North America Inc. on behalf of client, Adam Pick. The plaintiffs claim that the phenomenally successful show more than 32 million Americans watched the finals stole an interactive Web site idea from Pick, a local businessman and “Idol” fan. The site, www.idolgohome.com, allowed fans to act as judges and pick which contestants were eliminated.

After Pick launched his site, he claims the defendants demanded it be shut down, even though they had passed on buying his idea prior to the launch. The official “Idol” site later added a fantasy game similar to Pick’s.

American Idol Productions declined to comment.

“This case premise is on a long-standing body of law largely arising in the Hollywood world where people come to producers and pitch ideas,” Valle said. “And the courts have recognized that it understood that I’m pitching this to you with the understanding that you’re not going to use it without compensating me. And if those circumstances are present an implied contract can arise.”

Valle added that “Idol” Web site’s traffic increased dramatically after implementing the fantasy game. The suit also contains an allegation that Pick’s site was shut down in part because it had a section with estimated voting results. There have been unsubstantiated allegations of vote tampering on “Idol” and Pick maintains that his site may have uncovered some of the inconsistencies.

The suit seeks unspecified damages and an order that the defendants stop using the fantasy game on their show’s Web site.

Legal Masterpiece


The exhibit entitled “Five Paintings From the Collection of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer,” currently hanging at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, endured a long and difficult journey after being seized by Nazis during World War II. The paintings’ arrival in Los Angeles marks the end of another difficult journey, this one guided by L.A. attorney Steve Thomas of Irell & Manella LLP.

The Gustav Klimt works, which have been on exhibit in Vienna, have been the subject of an eight-year legal battle. Bloch-Bauer heir Maria Altmann, 90, was the central figure in her family’s efforts to get the paintings back. Two of the paintings are portraits of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, and they hung in the family’s living room when she was a child. Altmann fled Germany in 1938 and later found a home in Los Angeles.

After the family won their case, Thomas spearheaded the delivery of the paintings to the United States after they were restituted and organized the exhibit at LACMA. Working day and night for three weeks, Thomas orchestrated transportation, set security and worked with customs officials on both sides while simultaneously negotiating the loan to the museum. It wasn’t easy.

“We had snow storms in Vienna that trapped one of our trucks. We had a plane go down that we wanted to use. We ended up going through four countries and using separate trucks for the paintings leaving in the middle of the night to make the exit as quiet as possible,” Thomas said.

Something of an artist himself, the attorney worked professionally for a few years before college and made enough to support himself. He now specializes in private art transactions and was involved in more than $250 million worth of deals in the last year.

“This was Maria’s way to say thank you to the country and city that gave her a home,” said, Thomas, adding “it’s a tremendous honor to be a part of such an important and wonderful story. It’s a great result after 68 years of (the paintings’) being held prison by Austria.”

The five Klimts have a reported value of $300 million, although Thomas declined to verify any amounts. He said the family is enjoying the exhibition and has made no decisions regarding the disposition of the paintings at this point.

Movers


Victoria Kaufman, most recently a partner with Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP, was named a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California. “It’s something I have aspired to do for nearly as long as I’ve been lawyer, which is more than 15 years,” Kaufman said. “It’s an opportunity to assess all kinds of issues that arise under the bankruptcy code. In many cases your impact is immediate and you can make such a difference, especially in consumer cases, so there’s a sense of satisfaction to really making an important contribution.” She will be seated later this month. John K. Van de Kamp, former California Attorney General and former president of the California State Bar, joined ADR Services, Inc. as a panelist handling mediations and arbitrations. He also serves as Of Counsel at Dewey Ballantine LLP. Gibbs Giden Locher and Turner LLP upped Marion T. Hack and Matthew L. Grode to equity partners.

Staff reporter Emily Bryson York can be reached at

[email protected]

or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.