Sotelo

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a radio celebrity, known to his listeners as “Piolin.” For many years, plaintiff hosted a nationally syndicated morning program called Piolin por la Mañana, produced by Univision Radio in Los Angeles. In March 2013, Alberto “Beto” Cortez contacted one of the defendants, Robert R. Clayton, an attorney with the firm, Taylor & Ring. Cortez worked on Piolin por la Mañana as its producer for 10 years. He claimed plaintiff committed acts of physical, sexual and emotional abuse during the time they worked together. Cortez retained Clayton to represent his claims. On April 16, 2013, Clayton sent a letter to Univision Radio summarizing Cortez’s claims and began discussions with Univision’s general counsel concerning those claims. On July 22, 2013, Univision Radio cancelled Piolin por la Mañana. Somehow, the Los Angeles Times obtained Clayton’s letter and wrote an article about Cortez’s allegations. The article ran on July 23, 2013. Within the article, plaintiff’s counsel, Jeffrey Spitz, was quoted as claiming Cortez was a “disgruntled, troubled employee.” In early August 2013, apparently prompted by the Los Angeles Times’ article, six former…