from www.adultcybermart.com Jupiter in retrograde likes to spend his time in the courtroom, and it looks like that’s where Jimmy Flynt will be for awhile.
Jimmy Flynt has filed two federal lawsuits in the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Western Division. One suit is aimed at his brother Larry. The other suit names attorney Paul Cambria Jr.
In that second one, Jimmy Flynt is suing attorney Cambria and four other attorneys, and the Buffalo, N.Y. law firm of Lipsitz, Green, Scime and Cambria. Jimmy Flynt claims the attorneys failed to protect his business interests, misrepresented him in several real estate ventures and asset transfers and took action against him, in a conflict of interest and facilitated his firing from Flynt Management Group.
In his $20M suit against Larry Flynt, Jimmy Flynt claims that the Flynt Management Group wrongfully terminated him. Jimmy has continuously worked with Larry and Hustler since approximately 1969. Hustler started in Ohio where its corporate headquarters were located in Columbus for a number of years. Since the early 1980’s, Hustler has been headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
According to Jimmy Flynt, over the course of their 40 year business/employment relationship, Larry has made “repeated specific and unequivocal promises and assurances” to Jimmy of continued and indefinite employment at Hustler. Larry assured Jimmy that he would not and could not be terminated and that he would have continued employment for the rest of his life.
During the course of his tenure with Hustler, Jimmy Flynt states he was held by Larry and others within Hustler as a top-ranking executive, officer, director, owner, principal and/or partner within Hustler.
According to the suit, Flynt Management Group, FMG, was created in 2003 to serve as the entity through which the upper level management, officers and executives within the Hustler Enterprise are paid, including Jimmy and Larry.
Jimmy and Larry’s professional relationship and dealings has always been casual and based on mutual trust and loyalty. As a result, Jimmy has always believed that he and Larry have been business partners and co-owners of Hustler.
Jimmy and Larry have held various titles over the years with differing roles and responsibilities. Jimmy has been an officer and director of innumerable Hustler-entities and in recent years has been President of Hustler Entertainment, Inc. and of several of the operating entities set up to operate the various Hustler retail stores across the country. For most of the 2000’s, LFP’s board of directors consisted of Jimmy and Larry.
Jimmy Flynt contends that he was the brainchild for Hustler retail and that he opened the first Hustler store and was the first to use the Hustler mark in commerce and in retail.
Jimmy claims he literally built Hustler retail from the ground up. He found locations, oversaw the design and construction of the stores, developed the concept and layout, came up with the name “Hustler Hollywood”, hired, trained, promoted, and fired employees and staff, monitored the financials, and otherwise oversaw all operational aspects.
It was during the 2000’s, in addition to overseeing retail operations at the Cincinnati and Monroe Hustler locations and the Hustler Store in Beverly Hills, CA, that Jimmy took on the role and responsibility of further growing and expanding the retail arm of the company.
The initial plan was to open five new Hustler retail stores a year throughout the country. Jimmy claims he traveled all over the United States scouting locations for new stores, obtained the necessary building, zoning and operating permits and licenses, coordinated design and construction, recruited, hired and trained staff, got the stores stocked and set-up to conduct business and otherwise managed the store openings and initial operations.
Jimmy also takes credit for opening additional stores in Lexington, KY, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, New Orleans, LA; Nashville, TN, Tacoma, WA and St. Louis, MO.
The suit makes the case that over those years other than Jimmy, no one attached to the Hustler organization has held stock or assets in their name, has had unlimited freedom and flexibility with respect to work hours or location, nor has participated in the hiring and firing of executives and been there from the beginning.
“No other employee provided the start-up capital for Hustler during its formative and foundation years in the 1970’s,” it goes on to say.
“No other employee has been a signatory on virtually all Hustler bank accounts. No other employee has been the sole legal shareholder of corporations which were the first to use (and register) the Hustler marks in commerce. No other employee’s name is or has been adorned or displayed on Hustler websites, in Hustler retail stores and in various other ways in connection with the Hustler brand and business.”
“No other employee has had the various titles that Jimmy has had over the years. No other employee has traveled the world or spent as much time with Larry, building and marketing Hustler, as Jimmy has.”
Also in his suit Jimmy Flynt claims that since at least 1989, Larry has made repeated and “unequivocal” statements and assurances to him that he would have continued and indefinite employment at Hustler and that he could not be terminated. It was also during the course of their business/employment relationship, Larry and Jimmy shared legal advisors, both in connection with criminal matters as well as their business interests.
Jimmy and Larry have also shared financial advisors and have mutually sought the advice and service of various executives, managers, and employees in connection with Hustler’s business affairs and operations.
The suit states that over the years, specifically the last 15 years, Jimmy has been encouraged/induced/coerced/directed to transfer legal title to millions of dollars in assets (cash, stock, personal property, real property, etc.) to Larry, directly or indirectly, in reliance on Larry’s specific and unequivocal promises to him that he could not and would not be terminated and that he would have continued and indefinite employment at Hustler for the rest of his life.
In January of 2009, Larry Flynt filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against his nephews Jimmy Flynt II and Dustin Flynt and their newly formed company, Flynt Media, in federal court in Los Angeles. It was then that Larry contacted Jimmy demanding that he “get control of his boys” and exert pressure on them to comply with his settlement demands, which included monetary compensation ($100,000) and an agreement not to use the Flynt name, alone, to market products.
Jimmy Flynt claims that Larry made threats that if he couldn’t make the lawsuit go away, then he would “cut him off” financially. Larry also told Jimmy that he would take his (Jimmy’s) compensation/salary to fund the lawsuit that he instituted against Jimmy’s sons and that he would due harm to Jimmy unless Jimmy was able to affect the outcome of Larry’s federal lawsuit.
As of January of 2009, Jimmy drew his $250,000/year salary and benefits through Flynt Management, LLC. In addition to his salary, Jimmy received health and other fringe benefits, including a 401K retirement plan, a car and an expense account.
Jimmy Flynt said he tried to persuade his sons to give up on using the Flynt name in connection with their newly formed business and to heed Larry’s demands for a monetary payment. Jimmy’s sons were unwilling to do so.
According to Jimmy Flynt, his brother in February, 2009, embarked on a course of action intending to wrongfully discharge/terminate Jimmy and otherwise “squeeze” Jimmy out of the Hustler business/enterprise. Larry gave the directive to FMG to stop Jimmy’s pay. No explanation was given to Jimmy.
FMG, he also claims, direct deposited funds into Jimmy’s checking account and then a few hours later, took them back out. Jimmy sought an explanation but none was provided.
In early April of 2009, Larry sent Jimmy two legal bills incurred in connection with his lawsuit against Jimmy’s sons and asked that Jimmy pay those bills directly.
Jimmy Flynt’s suit also details other alleged flimflammery. On or about April 29, 2009, Tom Candy, a long time employee of Hustler (and former CFO), contacted Jimmy/HCI’s accountant, Allie Jackson III.
Candy instructed Jackson to “loan” $400,000 from Hustler Cincinnati, Inc. to LFP Internet Group, LLC (one of the entities within the Hustler enterprise) in connection with a mysterious “major project” that the “internet group” was working on.
Candy, according to Jimmy Flynt, also claimed to have the title “Executive Vice President” for LFP Internet Group, LLC, a title he did not actually hold. Candy then told Jackson that he was aware that Hustler Cincinnati had “excess cash” based on weekly financial reports that, at the time, were provided by Jackson, on behalf of Hustler Cincinnati, to LFP’s accounting group in California.
Candy requested that Jackson send a wire transfer of $400,000 and suggested that time was of the essence – asking for the funds to be wired “tomorrow.” Candy followed up his phone communication with an e-mail communication and a proposed “promissory note.”
Candy provided instructions for transferring the money to a bank in Beverly Hills, CA. Jackson immediately notified Jimmy of this request. Jimmy told Jackson not to make the transfer as Jimmy suspected it was fraudulent.
Jackson called Candy to inform him that Jimmy had instructed him not to make the funds transfer. Candy responded: “this is going to be a problem.”
According to Jimmy Flynt, his brother Larry admitted that he gave the directive to use a fraudulent promissory note / loan request in an effort to obtain “excess cash” from the bank account of Hustler Cincinnati, Inc.
Larry believed that he was entitled to those proceeds even though Jimmy was/is the sole shareholder/owner of Hustler Cincinnati, Inc. There was no “major internet project,” no other divisions were requested to loan “excess cash” and Larry/LFP Internet Group, LLC had no intention of paying the requested $400,000 loan back.
Less than a week after the $400,000 loan request was denied, Larry took action in an effort to evict Jimmy/Hustler Cincinnati, Inc. from 411 Elm Street in downtown Cincinnati. Litigation concerning that dispute remains ongoing in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.
Then, a letter dated June 15, 2009 was sent by an agent of Flynt Management Group, to Jimmy at his Las Vegas residence advising him that his purported position as an “unpaid consultant” was being terminated by FMG. Jimmy had never heard of this title. The author of the letter, John Lara, has recently testified that he did not know what an “unpaid consultant” was and that the letter was written by Hustler’s legal counsel at the Lipsitz Green law firm in Buffalo, NY.
On June 25, 2009, Jimmy Flynt received a second letter from Flynt Management advising that due to “recent events that have clearly placed you in a conflict of interest of Mr. Larry C. Flynt” he was being terminated, effective immediately, and that all of his benefits were being stopped.
He was instructed to turn in his company car under threats that if he failed to do so, “FMG shall deem the vehicle stolen, and take whatever legal actions are available to it to secure the return of the vehicle.”
Jimmy returned his company car to a dealership but no compensation or severance was offered. There was no legitimate business reason or justification nor was their “just cause” to terminate Jimmy’s pay and benefits.
Jimmy Flynt is seeking more than $20 million in damages.
In his second complaint, Jimmy Flynt claims attorney Paul Cambria Jr. as well as four other attorneys failed to properly represent him in a string of real estate deals and asset transfers, by representing both sides of the deals, and allowing him to “transfer stock worth millions of dollars for no consideration.”
Jimmy Flynt also claims the attorneys also “failed to properly advise, counsel and guide Jimmy and Hustler Cincinnati Inc. as to their trademark and intellectual property rights with respect to use of the Hustler name/mark, in connection with retail services in downtown Cincinnati, through HNG and HCI.
Cambria, according to the suit, failed to advise Jimmy and HCI that they would potentially jeopardize and/or lose their rights to the Hustler name/mark by making monetary transfers to LFP, docketed on HCI’s financial books and tax returns, as ‘licensing fees.’ These transfers were directed by Cambria and defendant attorneys without full and proper disclosure as to the legal implications.”
Flynt also says that the attorneys “participated in and/or were complicit with an attempted scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $400,000 from HCI/Jimmy at the request of Larry in April of 2009, to include the drafting of a fraudulent promissory note which violated Ohio’s securities laws.”
Jimmy Flynt also says, the attorneys helped facilitate his firing from Flynt Management Group “so as to create the opportunity for Cambria and the Lipsitz Green firm to have increased power and control of the Hustler Enterprise, to protect their retainer agreement and yearly revenue stream and to otherwise increase the likelihood of increased revenues and professional fees in the years to come.”
In that suit Jimmy Flynt seeks $1 million in compensatory and another $1 million punitive damages.