All posts containing the tag: "Debra Opri"
Posted Oct 28th 2009 7:30PM by TMZ Staff
Larry Birkhead has settled his $620,492.84 billing dispute with attorney Debra Opri.
You'll recall -- how can you forget -- that Opri billed Birkhead for repping him in his battle with Anna Nicole Smith back in 2007. Birkhead fired Opri, then got a Fed Ex present -- a bill that included $2,467.75 for a dinner that Birkhead didn't even attend. And there was $600 for 4 trays of lobster from Seafood World.
Birkhead sued Opri and she countersued him. TMZ has obtained legal docs which show the case has been dismissed with prejudice -- i.e., it settled.
The settlement is for an undisclosed amount.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Anna Nicole Smith, Exclusives
Tags: anna nicole smith, AnnaNicoleSmith, debra opri, DebraOpri, larry birkhead, LarryBirkhead, lobster, lobster dinner, LobsterDinner
Posted Jun 28th 2007 6:21PM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has learned Larry Birkhead has filed a formal complaint against Debra Opri with the State Bar of California.
We're told in his complaint, filed June 8, Birkhead claims Opri "misappropriated" hundreds of thousands of dollars he earned from a network TV deal and won't give it back. Birkhead asked the State Bar, "Please help me."
The complaint is pending.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: debra opri, DebraOpri, larry birkhead, LarryBirkhead
Posted Jun 19th 2007 2:28PM by TMZ Staff
Now that two celebrity clients have given her the ax, newly available attorney Debra Opri has vowed to get her reputation back. She started moments ago by spouting off a list of excuses why she couldn't come up a winner for Pamela Bach in her custody fight with David Hasselhoff.
After Bach formally fired Debra in a Los Angeles County Superior court session earlier today, Opri, who was also at court, told our cameras "I only had a month to turn things around, I got my marching orders and I ran out of time." Cue the world's smallest violin.
When Opri learned that her other celeb former client, Larry Birkhead, was handling some business in the same court today -- without the $650,000 check she claims he owes her -- Opri quipped "I'll have to stop by and say hi!"
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, David Hasselhoff
Tags: debra opri, DebraOpri
Posted Jun 1st 2007 9:00PM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has learned Debra Opri got a visit tonight from a famous P.I., who served her with Larry Birkhead's lawsuit filed Friday.
Birkhead hired attorney Michael Trope to sue Opri, alleging she defrauded him by taking hundreds of thousands of dollars he earned and diverted them into her client trust fund account.
John Nazarian, the famous P.I., went to Opri's Santa Monica home tonight and handed her the lawsuit. We're told Opri's reaction: "I have insurance to cover this,"
Opri then told Nazarian, she wanted to know who the hell was Michael Trope. Nazarian put it this way, "I wouldn't want him chewing on my ass."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: debra opri, DebraOpri, larry birkhead, LarryBirkhead
Posted Jun 1st 2007 4:24PM by TMZ Staff
The mud flew and the fireworks exploded in David Hasselhoff's custody battle today -- even though he wasn't there to see it.
Today's proceedings were put on hold after Hoff's lead lawyer, Mel Goldsman, called in sick, but Pam's attorney, Debra Opri, decided to rip the Hoff a new one anwyay -- blasting the "America's Got Talent" star for not showing up to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
But Hoff's other legal eagle, Marci Levine, clawed back, calling Opri "completely outrageous and irresponsible" and "an outrageous liar."
Meanwhile, inside the courtroom, the judge said he wanted proof that Hasselhoff tested clean this morning, in accordance with a court order that he lay off the booze. Levine told reporters that Hoff had already performed a test this morning, passed with flying colors, and will prove it during the next scheduled hearing.
It's a never-ending stream of fun in the Hoff-a-rama!
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, David Hasselhoff
Tags: debra opri, DebraOpri
Posted May 29th 2007 7:22PM by TMZ Staff
UPDATE: In an exclusive statement to TMZ, Larry Birkhead says:
Despite their filings, both Ms. Opri and her attorney received notification making them aware that I would be out of the state of California taking care of my daughter until the conclusion of an upcoming June custody hearing in the Bahamas.
Although at this time, the public is not aware of the unbelievable circumstances which led to me firing Ms. Opri, the only question at the end of the day is, how much money will Debra Opri be paying me? Thanks to the efforts of my Bahamas attorney, Emerick Knowles, I am fortunate enough now to be spending time with my daughter, Dannielynn.
TMZ has obtained a court document filed by Debra Opri in which she claims that Dannielynn's daddy has refused to pay for legal services.
In the petition to the court, filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Opri claims Larry Birkhead "has refused and continues to refuse to pay [her] for any of her services." She now wants a judge to step in and force Larry to engage in binding arbitration.
In the document, Opri claims she "spent hundreds of hours working on Mr. Birkhead's case," which the documents say were at a cost of $475 an hour.
As TMZ first reported, Birkhead and Opri parted ways when their relationship went south. Opri then presented Birkhead with the mother of all legal bills -- totaling nearly $650,000 -- charging him for travel expenses including steak dinners, lobster take-out and laundry service for Opri's husband. Opri told TMZ that the bill was "fair and reasonable."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: Anna Nicole Smith, AnnaNicoleSmith, Debra Opri, DebraOpri, Larry Birkhead, LarryBirkhead
Posted May 7th 2007 1:32PM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has learned that a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has suspended David Hasselhoff's right to visit his children in the wake of the videotape showing the actor drunk on his living room floor.
Hasselhoff is allowed to have telephone contact only.
On May 21, the judge will hold a hearing on the videotape and how it will affect Hasselhoff's long-term visitation rights.
The judge also ordered that Hasselhoff, his ex-wife Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff and their kids meet with a psychologist prior to the May 21st hearing. The psychologist has the power to adjust the judge's order after meeting with the fractured family.
Strangely, the judge never admitted the videotape into evidence but said it didn't matter because he's a "normal human being" who reads, among other things, TMZ.
Story developing ...
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Dirty Divorces, David Hasselhoff
Tags: david hasselhoff, DavidHasselhoff, debra opri, DebraOpri
Posted Apr 10th 2007 12:34PM by TMZ Staff
A steaming Debra Opri took to the airwaves today to defend the $620,492.84 bill she gave to her former client, Larry Birkhead, which TMZ first published.
The crustacean combatant would not get into specifics when talking with CourtTV's Jami Floyd, but did address the issue of the $600 she billed Birkhead for lobsters. Opri maintains that the bill TMZ published was "not complete," and that Larry would "happily" pay the bill. We'll see about that.
Opri also said that she feels like a proud parent today because "Larry is going to take that child home." We'll find out soon enough!
Filed under: Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: anna nicole smith, AnnaNicoleSmith, debra opri, DebraOpri, larry birkhead, LarryBirkhead
Posted Apr 2nd 2007 2:47PM by TMZ Staff
Debra Opri has just issued the following statement regarding the legal fees she charged Larry Birkhead:
"One can only imagine from whom and for what purposes these stories were started. I cannot comment on unauthenticated documents which were disseminated to the media under suspicious circumstances, and which are covered by the attorney-client privilege. I can assure you, however, that all of the fees and expenses incurred on behalf of Mr. Birkhead were reasonable, necessary, and appropriate, given the complexity and magnitude of this very high profile case that was litigated in two different states and a foreign country. Out of respect for Mr. Birkhead, I cannot comment further at this time."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: DEBRA OPRI, DebraOpri
Posted Apr 1st 2007 3:10AM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has learned Larry Birkhead got a Fed Ex on Saturday, and it was not good news. It was a bill for legal services from Debri Opri, the lawyer he fired two weeks ago. The total: $620,492.84.
Opri billed her services out at $475 an hour. Here are some of the charges:
- A total of three $1,500 monthly charges for Luck Media & Marketing, Opri's personal publicist.
- On March 1, 2007, the day before Anna's funeral, there is a charge of 10 hours for "preparation for and attendance in Bahamas re services and var. meetings re same." On the day of Anna's funeral, there is another 10 hour charge with the exact same language. Ironically, TMZ knows Birkhead asked Opri not to even attend the funeral, but she did anyway. On March 3, Opri charged yet another 10 hours for travel from Nassau back to L.A.
- On February 24, 2007, while Opri and Birkhead stayed at a private residence in Ft. Lauderdale during the Florida hearing, Opri billed $600 for Seafood World. We're told she brought four trays of lobster to the house. The bill says, "Dinner gift/Ft. Lauderdale house stay." But it was no gift to Larry. That same day, she billed $211 for items at Publix grocery store.
- March 8, 2007, Opri billed $161.65 for an Outback Steakhouse dinner. And get this -- the bill was for $111.65. Opri left a $50 tip and billed Birkhead, who wasn't even there!
- Opri billed Birkhead $4,265 for Cingular roaming service while she was in the Bahamas.
- Opri billed Birkhead 18 times for Diva Limos that took them to and from the Ft. Lauderdale courthouse to the private residence.
- October 22, 2006, Opri billed Birkhead $1,116.16 for a dinner at Graycliff, a restaurant in Nassau. The note next to the charge is "Alexiou atty mtg." Alexiou is Birkhead's lawyer in the Bahamas. Birkhead was not present.
- The next day, October 23, Opri billed $2,467.75 at Graycliff restaurant for another meal. The charge again was for "Alexiou atty mtg." Again, Birkhead was not present.
- Also on October 23, Birkhead was billed $25.75. The item -- "laundry service Zawacki." Zawacki is Opri's husband, who was present on the trip. Ouch!
- Opri's bill reveals that "20/20" is more than a TV show -- it's the number of hours she bills for a "20/20" interview with Larry Birkhead. Opri and Birkhead went from L.A. to New York City on December 9, 2006, did the interview and returned the next day. Opri billed 10 hours travel time each way.
In all, the packet of bills Birkhead received today totaled 112 pages. Opri offered Birkhead a bargain: Instead of the $620,492.84 bill, she offered him a discount at $511,365.09, but only if he accepts immediately. Opri wrote, "I'm still willing to accept the discounted billing at this time, but only without further discussion."
TMZ contacted James Levesque, Opri's publicist with Luck Media & Marketing. He said, "Debra Opri always gets paid. That's what she does for a living." Beyond that, he wouldn't comment on the bill. Opri could not be immediately reached for comment.
UPDATE: TMZ has just obtained a statement from David Owen, Opri's lawyer. He said, "We're pretty confident that her bills are fair and reasonable and he has not paid them. She is entitled to be paid and he stiffed her and her bills are fair and reasonable."
Filed under: Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: anna nicole smith, AnnaNicoleSmith, debra opri, DebraOpri, larry birkhead, LarryBirkhead
Posted Mar 13th 2007 1:05PM by TMZ Staff
A smiling Larry Birkhead emerged from Los Angeles County Superior Court just moments ago, where he asked a judge to make Howard K. Stern come to California and submit to DNA testing to determine exactly who Dannielynn Stern's father really is.
Birkhead's lawyer, Debra Opri, said she was confident that Stern would be made to come to California, and she also said that Stern "can't hide behind a fake birth certificate" and that his "feet will be held to the fire."
Ron Rale, Stern's attorney, spoke just after Opri, and finally acknowledged what TMZ has already reported-- that Stern, Birkhead, and South Carolina businessman Ford Shelley met privately several weeks ago in his hotel room (without him) to discuss settling their paternity and financial disputes-- but no deal has resulted. Rale also said that no agreement has been made to exchange paternity for part of Dannielynn's future inheritance, saying that Birkhead isn't even named in the will.
Birkhead, for his part, said, "I'm just doing what I have to do for my daughter," and that for him, holding Dannielynn for the first time in the Bahamas "was like being in the delivery room."
Filed under: Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: anna nicole smith, AnnaNicoleSmith, debra opri, DebraOpri, larry birkhead, LarryBirkhead
Posted Mar 5th 2007 4:34PM by TMZ Staff
Larry Birkhead's lawyer tells TMZ there will be no negotiating with Howard K. Stern.
Debra Opri says the only subject of negotiation is "how fast he [Stern] will produce the child for a DNA test and how quickly he will allow that child to go to California with her real father."
As TMZ has been reporting, Stern has been asking Birkhead for some involvement in Dannielynn's financial affairs after paternity is established. Now Opri says, "There were never any deals. It was a one-sided discussion."
Opri tells TMZ she did not want to respond to Stern's overtures until after the funeral. Birkhead's hardline stance now puts the ball in Stern's court -- will he submit Dannielynn for DNA testing or will the fight escalate?
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Anna Nicole Smith
Tags: Anna Nicole Smith, AnnaNicoleSmith, Debra Opri, DebraOpri, Howard K. Stern, HowardK.Stern, Larry Birkhead, LarryBirkhead
