Perhaps Bonfante is going to argue that Collette conspired with Nevone to be too ugly to front "his" Pink cover band -- that would make her an accessory!


rocktivity

Last edited Wed Jul 22, 2015, 10:43 AM - Edit history (4)

From Confessions of a Bad Ugly Singer.Wordpress.com:

The worst is over. I think. Of course, I thought that before...

Before the lawsuit, I was juggling 5 bands, and booking about one new studio client a week..(C)lients that are checking my online reputation before hiring me...After the lawsuit, I booked one new studio client the entire year. I’m in one band that plays on occasion...So I might as well get back in the studio and cut an album. I certainly have a lot to say these days...

I spent most of my 30’s in fear of my real age being revealed. Despite getting fired for my age when I was 38…despite the NY Post age shaming me not once but twice…Now I am SO comfortable with my age that I TATTOOED THAT SHIT ON MY WRIST, folks...

Talented, Beautiful, Up-and-Coming Singer Brutally Smear Campaigned and Sued by Cowardly Narcissist. ...(That's) what the headlines SHOULD have said. Instead, national publications such as the New York Post printed disgusting headlines that read: Singer Sued for Being Too Ugly!

(New York Post reporter) Lia Eustachewich admitted she mistakenly thought my age was an issue in my court case, even though I told her it wasn’t. I respect that she took responsibility for this. I’m saddened the NY Post is brushing me off on this issue though...Lia...you are going to be 40 someday. My hope is that if we can create a meaningful dialogue about this now, so you will be spared the bigotry that I’m subjected to on an almost a daily basis...

Last edited Sat Mar 26, 2016, 11:10 AM - Edit history (5)

with work on an upcoming album, and a song covering -- WAIT FOR IT! -- Pink!

Last edited Thu Sep 17, 2015, 11:55 AM - Edit history (1)

Collette McLafferty’s life was turned upside down in 2014 when the singer and songwriter was served with a $10 million lawsuit...by a person whom she had never met, stemming from a job she accepted in a P!NK tribute band...Bloggers and writers came to her defense, and turned their sights on the plaintiff who filed the $10 million case, Charles Bonfante.

Now the tables have turned...Bonfante, a personal injury lawyer who is representing himself, recently offered to drop his lawsuit and actually pay Collette “half her legal fees.” But McLafferty refuses to give in.

“Nobody should ever have to go through what I’ve been through. This situation has humiliated me publicly, damaged my reputation, my career, my livelihood. This is harassment, legalized extortion plain and simple.”

...McLafferty has teamed up with the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, a nonprofit, nonpartisan legal reform advocacy organization to draft “Collette’s Law.” The draft legislation takes aim at frivolous lawsuits by requiring those who file meritless actions to pay the other party’s legal costs, as well as increasing sanctions for plaintiffs who file frivolous lawsuits...

Glad a good law is passed partly because of her.

Go, Colleen!!

Last edited Sat Dec 25, 2021, 02:42 PM - Edit history (4)

The details of the settlement have been released by Collette's legal team, and it contains a legal strategy Randi Rhodes taught me.

Randi was threatened with a lawsuit over something she said on the air, and said she had a filed a request for a "summary judgment" in response. Apparently that's the legal way of saying, "This case is so full of shit that neither you nor I should dignify it with a response, your honor." Well, Randi got her summary judgment. The plaintiffs appealed and won. Randi responded by asking for ANOTHER summary judgment -- and she got that, too!

Well, according to Collette's attorney:

Hey there, just want to thank you for all of your coverage on the democratic underground forum. While the lawsuit is over, there is still a huge battle ahead for me. I have decided to publicly forgive the man who sued me for $10,000,000.... However I will go on record to say I am very upset that he backed out of the public apology. My decision to settle for such a small amount, was conditional to a public apology. Still, I can't accrue any more legal fees so I am not going to go after him for it. I do hope one day he does the right thing and makes a public statement. The courts and judge Arthur Pitts pressured me to settle and they even tried to cancel the hearing after I did so. My latter insisted that I get to speak. I told the judge to his face that The Supreme Court of Riverhead should be mortified that they tolerated this in their court system for two years. It truly is a disgrace. The bar also choose to do nothing. The system doesn't like to punish lawyers. That is what I have learned from this experience. Bonfante had a lawyer for the first time at this hearing. They choose to refrain from punishing him at all, which is a slap in the face to the torture that this experience was. While it was great to get my legal fees back, the fact that I was not compensated for my time or loss of reputation really bothers me.

Chuck's remorse was very real and palpable, as the entire dispute was completely between him and the man who hired me. His beef with the man who hired me in my opinion was legit. Only Chuck should have taken him to small claims and filed a 4 page complaint. He was not professional. Instead he was emotional, hence the insults, 112 page complaint and the extremely dumb choice of dragging me into it. I understand why he got so angry at the man who hired me, but his job as a lawyer is to put that aside and stick to the facts, which he didn't do!

Now that the lawsuit is over, I am turning my attention to the The New York Post and the way the media handled the story. The case was actually between two men and had absolutely nothing to do with me! They disbanded when the bass player asked Charles Bonfante to borrow $15,000 because he was being investigated for elder fraud. Chuck was handling the paperwork for the bandleaders elderly aunts estate. He was angry because he felt the band leader put his practice at risk. The band leader also then defamed Chuck on Facebook... Which is most likely what sparked the lawsuit. This is what the media should have reported on. When the media told America that I was sued for being too old and too ugly... Well the flat out lied to sell newspapers.

Bonfante did make comments about my looks, but my age was never once mentioned. The media made that part up. He also made derogatory remarks about the bass player and guitar player. In reality, his opinion of my looks was a very small detail of the case. I understand why the media was fascinated by it, but they missed out on a much more interesting and scandalous story.

The New York Post could have told the truth and still sold papers.... But their spin on it was almost a work of fiction. They gave the impression that the lawsuit happened because I performed and that my performance sparked the suit. It's simply not true.
So I am working to get the real story out! Also I am getting a lot of resistance in Albany regarding legal reform. Frivolous lawsuits create profits for The Trial Lawyers and The Lawsuit Lending Industry... But that is a whole other drama! I wish this case was closed... But it's just starting! Again thank you for all of your coverage!

Last edited Mon Oct 11, 2021, 11:19 AM - Edit history (1)

...agree to a gag order, forget about legal reform, not demand any accountability, and focus on singing since my "window was closing" due to my age...My window is closing but his isn't?...and that I "needed to stop singing flat" (he had never heard me sing, he was going by the press reports). He told me no one outside of the NY Post would ever write about my case as it was yesterday's news...To be fair, he meant well and was offering me his services for free to sign my life and rights away...

I politely said thanks but no thanks. Instead I worked with a legal team that understood why this case was so important to fight and I gave up my Manhattan apartment so I could pay them. Since getting his legal advice, I have a lawsuit reform bill with five sponsors from The Assembly, a release on a legendary house music label, a national commercial, my first feature film singing credit, my first major label credit and have sang on tracks with producers all over the world. Oh, and a book deal.

Moral of the story: believe in yourself even when the world is literally telling you that you're old, ugly and terrible at the very thing you love more then anything that also happens to pay the bills.