Judge orders Denny McLain, attorney to pay

A former Detroit Tigers great and his attorney were ordered Thursday to pay slightly more than $7,000 in attorney fees for a local man who sued the star.

Judge Theresa Brennan took Denny McLain, who was not in court, and his attorney, Barry Powers, to task for what she said was their harassment and intimidation of the plaintiff on a civil suit as well as her staff. As a result of their delay tactics, Brennan said, the plaintiff’s attorney had to put in more time than necessary defending a countersuit Powers filed with the court on behalf of McLain that was not based on facts.

“A lot of the work shouldn’t have been needed, but because Mr. Powers was trying to intimidate and harass (plaintiff Joe Dobson), it was,” the judge said. “Mr. Powers and Mr. McLain did not count on the tenaciousness of the plaintiff.”

Following the hearing, Powers said it was evident Brennan still holds a grudge against him for earlier asking her to recuse herself from the case. He said in his years of practice this is the first time he’s been assessed fines or costs.

In an earlier hearing, Brennan assessed $1,300 in fines against Powers, who continually questioned and challenged her handling of the case, despite the judge’s numerous warnings to stay on track with the issues.

“I run into this judge and stand my ground, and she wasn’t having it,” Powers said. “This building is for the people. It’s not for judges to lay down what she wants. She’s a public servant.”

Donald Neville, who represented Dobson, said they agree with the judge’s decision because Dobson should not have had to endure the legal process or fees associated with the case.

Dobson said there was no question that he’d pursue the lawsuit and payment of wages.

“I worked the hours,” he said after court Thursday. “I deserved to be paid.”

In July, a local jury reached a quick verdict for Dobson, who initially filed his lawsuit in Livingston County’s small-claims court alleging that McLain owed him about $1,900 for unpaid wages for a sales job from October to November, but McLain countersued, seeking damages in excess of $25,000, which moved the case to Circuit Court.

McLain, who didn’t show for his one-day trial due to an injured foot, alleged Dobson, who assisted McLain with marketing and sales at trade shows, interfered with McLain’s business relationships and committed conversion and breach of contract.

Following testimony, Brennan granted the plaintiff’s request for a direct verdict, and she dismissed McLain’s counterclaims alleging Dobson harassed him and committed extortion, which she said “were not grounded in fact or law.” The judge said Powers’ court filings also did not comply with court rules.

Neville then submitted a motion seeking reimbursement of attorney fees on the counterclaim. At a hearing to determine the legitimacy of those fees, Powers cross-examined Neville for three hours and 25 minutes, but not once did he question Neville’s rate, leading the judge to “assume he acquiesced” to the amount testified, Brennan said in announcing her ruling. She also noted that Powers testified for 64 minutes.

Brennan said Powers “wasted so much time” during the hearings, was not prepared and repeatedly asked the same questions as well as tried to relitigate the jury trial. As a result, she tacked on three hours pay for Neville that he did not request.

Powers said Brennan’s order that he and McLain pay Dobson’s attorney fees is “premature” because the statutory time to file motions seeking legal remedies to the verdict has not passed. He said Thursday that he will discuss with McLain how he wishes to proceed.

McLain, who has won both a Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards, won 31 games and led the Tigers to the World Series in 1968.

His life took a downward spiral beginning with a conviction and prison sentence for racketeering, which was later overturned on appeal. After his release, McLain was a talk-show host on a Detroit radio station for several years.

McLain also served a federal prison sentence for embezzlement in connection with the theft of money from Peet Packing Co., a company in Chesaning that he owned at the time.

Most recently, McLain, who has made his home in Brighton and Hamburg townships as well as Georgia, disputed an unidentified person’s right to sell autographed baseballs McLain used in 1968, and he was arrested in Port Huron Township in 2011 on an outstanding warrant for theft of more than $1,500 in Louisiana, where it was alleged he accepted scrap metal but did not fully compensate the seller.

Contact Livingston Daily justice reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or lrchurch@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaRooseChurch.

Attorney still questions judge’s actions in suit

An attorney for a former Detroit Tigers great is asking the appeals court to review a local judge’s refusal to recuse herself from a civil suit.

Bloomfield Hills attorney Barry Powers confirmed Thursday he filed a brief asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to take superintending control of District Judge Theresa Brennan in Brighton because she denied his request to recuse herself from a lawsuit and denied his request to refer the matter to the Livingston County chief judge.

Powers asked Brennan to recuse herself from a lawsuit filed against his client, former Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain, after the judge opened an August hearing with a statement her husband told her that he saw McLain “walking around downtown Brighton” and that she “inferred conclusively” from her husband’s comment that McLain “had given false evidence.”

The false evidence was Powers’ statement to the court and two letters allegedly written by McLain’s doctor verifying his foot injury, which kept him from attending his one-day trial on the civil suit. Brennan questioned the legitimacy of the letters, which were not signed.

Powers said Brennan refused to honor an agreement between himself and the plaintiff’s attorney to adjourn the trial time to allow McLain to recover.

“Thus, the judge damned both McLain and his counsel with her conclusive finding,” Powers said in court papers. “... Any statement or suggestion that McLain was walking is incorrect.”

Powers asked Brennan to disqualify herself from hearing the case, but the judge denied the request as well as a second request to put the court proceedings on hold while Powers appealed to the chief judge.

The lawsuit filed by Joe Dobson alleged McLain owed him more than $1,900 in unpaid wages. A jury ruled in favor of Dobson and dismissed McLain’s countersuit.