Landlord attorney testifies that firm lost lawyers, morale sagged because of 'vulgar' Twitter account

PASADENA - Tweets published on a parody Twitter account mocking Los Angeles landlord attorney Dennis P. Block and his staff damaged his reputation and induced some attorneys to leave his firm, including a star litigator, Hasti Rahsepar, Block testified on Tuesday.

"It seemed like every time she went to court, a lot of times when she went to court, that she would be the subject of these vulgar tweets," he said. "And it was really kind of pushing down on morale. And she certainly didn't want to take cases against BASTA [a tenant advocacy organization]."

"Sometimes you just have no choice. We're a law firm, and we've got to perform. But she certainly expressed to me that she didn't want to take any case against BASTA," Block said of Rahsepar.

Eric D. Anderson, who is defending BASTA Inc. and its founder against libel and invasion of privacy claims, sought to poke holes in Block's testimony. He raised the possibility that Block's law firm grew despite the tweets at issue, and that his attorneys departed for better opportunities at other firms.

"How many attorneys do you have?" Anderson asked.

"Twenty-five," Block replied.

"How many attorneys did you have in 2017," Anderson asked.

"Maybe 15, 16," Block replied.

"And how many in 2018?" Anderson said.

"Could have been the same, could have been a little bit more," Block replied.

"How many in 2019?" Anderson asked.

"I have really no idea. I'm going to take a guess - 20 at that time," Block said.

"Didn't you testify earlier that you were losing people because of the tweets?" Anderson replied.
"When was the last time you promoted an associate to partner?" Anderson asked later.

"Under me I don't have partners," Block replied.

Isn't it possible that attorneys leave to be partners at other firms or start their own practice? Anderson asked.

Block sued Bramzon, BASTA, founder Daniel J. Bramzon and BASTA's contractor, Brett Schulte, in 2017, claiming the Twitter account @DennisPBlock was created without his permission and was used to tweet defamatory statements suggesting that he and his staff were immoral, unethical, misogynistic and incompetent.

Block's personal cell phone number was also posted on the account along with photos of his law firm's attorneys and their family members, the lawsuit said. Dennis P. Block et al. v. John Doe et al., EC067254 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 5, 2017).

Bramzon testified earlier that he authorized Schulte to purchase a website domain name, dennisblock.com, that diverted viewers to a Yelp review page about the Block law firm but that he did not authorize Schulte to set up the Twitter accounts.

He also testified that he did not reprimand Schulte for the Twitter accounts or its posts because it was created, owned and operated by Schulte.