Mike Morse
Mike Morse
Update, 10:40 a.m. Friday: A judge denies attorney Geoffrey Fieger's request that prominent lawyer Mike Morse be ordered to preserve texts and social media messages as part of a sexual assault lawsuit against Morse, WXYZ reports.
Judge Phyllis McMillan calls the motion "overreaching."
Original article, Thursday
There's no love lost between Geoffrey Fieger and Mike Morse, two high-profile attorneys who advertise frequently on TV and compete for clients.
Fieger is turning up the screws on Morse in an Oakland County Circuit Court battle.
Fieger filed a $10-million suit Monday on behalf of a Novi woman who claims that Morse sexually assaulted her on April 6 at a Farmington Hills restaurant. Specifically, the suit alleges that Morse grabbed her breast while they were taking a selfie, something Morse adamantly denies. He claims Fieger is trying to ruin his reputation and law business.
Now he takes things up a notch, asking a judge to order Morse to preserve all text messages, cell phone photos and social media records, reports JC Reindl of the Detroit Free Press.
In a motion filed late Tuesday, Fieger claims that "numerous witnesses" have come forward since the lawsuit was filed Monday and "are willing to corroborate the fact that Defendant Morse has a proclivity of making unwanted sexual advances upon women."
Morse's attorney, Mitch Ribitwer, did not return messages on Wednesday from the Freep for comment.
On Monday, Morse issued a statement at his attorney's Royal Oak office:
People approach me take selfies on a regular basis and I thought nothing of it when this woman asked.
But there’s something else important I want to address. This lawsuit is a bogus, manufactured lawsuit and an attempt to extort money from me by the Fieger Law Firm.
Mr. Fieger has told people recently that he is angry with me because a former client of his fired him and hired me and I settled the case for a substantial amount of money in the past few months. There’s a history of Mr. Fieger attempting to disparage me in commercials and his blog posts.
This is also a pathetic attempt to harm my reputation, something the Fieger Law Firm stands to benefit from. I am standing here to tell you there is no truth to these allegations. There are multiple witnesses who were present at the time who observed that I did not touch this woman as alleged.
This lawsuit is complete and utter nonsense and I will vigorously defend myself against these false claims.
