The nine plaintiffs suing West Hollywood’s gay bar Micky’s have dismissed their co-counsel attorneys, according to a notice filed in court on Friday, June 7.
All nine plaintiffs have agreed to a “notice of dissociation” from attorneys Larry Organ and Barbara Figari, who were serving as co-counsel on the case, alleging civil rights and labor code violations, alongside lead attorney Matthew Krupnick.
“It has been only recently that the plaintiffs became aware of issues that caused thorough discussions amongst all involved in this matter, and the decision to remove these attorneys from this case was only recently made,” according to the report.
When contacted regarding those “issues,” plaintiff Reed Fraga chose not to elaborate.
Krupnick, a West Hollywood lawyer who is co-partner along with his mother at Krupnick and Krupnick, will continue representing all nine plaintiffs.
According to a source close to the case, the plaintiffs are actively pursuing lawyers to replace Organ and Figari to represent them, alongside Krupnick in anticipation of an October trial.
Despite several motions to dismiss, the case is going forward. The suit alleges violations of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, labor code violations, that Micky’s tolerated lewd conduct and that its management engaged in racial discrimination and discriminated against heterosexual employees.
In 2005, Organ started his own Bay Area firm focused on plaintiffs’ employment civil rights cases and issues involving retaliation, whistleblowers and wrongful termination.
Organ is noted for being the appellate lawyer in the sexual harassment case “Weeks v. Baker & McKenzie,” a 1998 case in which a legal secretary won $7.1 million dollars against the then-world’s largest law firm.
For nearly two years, Organ and Figari were partners in Equality Lawyers, before amicably parting in Oct. 2012. Figari now runs her own firm.
Krupnick has worked with both Organ and Figari on some of his most important cases and has said he considers both friends and associates.
For more information on the lawsuit, click here.
