Donald Lewis, left, and John Pierce of Pierce Bainbridge. Courtesy photo

A California judge tentatively dismissed one of three pending cases between Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht and its former partner Donald Lewis this week, concluding that Lewis' contacts with California weren't strong enough to establish personal jurisdiction.

While Lewis emailed a draft complaint to more than a dozen Pierce Bainbridge partners, some of whom were in California, Judge Patricia Nieto of the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that it wasn't enough of an anchor for personal jurisdiction under state law. The firm had argued that Lewis' contacts met the standard of the so-called "effects test," but the judge rejected that.

"Plaintiff establishes that three recipients of the email were California residents," the provisional ruling said. "However, the fact that plaintiff is a California corporation and three of the 16 recipients were residents of California does not sufficient to satisfy the 'express aiming' element of the effects test.

"This evidence only focuses on defendant's connection with plaintiff and plaintiff's agents who are California residents, rather than any defamatory/extortionate effect that occurred within California," the ruling continued. "This does not establish that the 'brunt' of the effect occurred in California, as there is no evidence [of] any effect in California. Thus, the evidence does not show a connection with defendant and California, but defendant and plaintiff."

The decision—which also rejected Lewis' request for sanctions on Pierce Bainbridge—stands to put a quiet end to an uproarious case that included descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct. Pierce Bainbridge said Lewis was fired after violating the terms of his administrative leave while a staffer's claims against him were investigated, but Lewis has said that the claims are false and he was fired for raising concerns about global managing partner John Pierce's use of funds lent to the firm by Pravati Capital.

Nieto's tentative decision also shifts the focus of the parties' dispute to New York, where Lewis has filed two lawsuits against Pierce Bainbridge, several of its partners and its outside counsel at Littler Mendelson and Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson. Motions to dismiss are pending in both cases.

In an email, Pierce defended the firm's firing of Lewis and described the dismissal as "purely procedural."

"We are looking forward to putting Don Lewis—and all his problematic behaviors—behind us in the ongoing NY cases, so that we may move on and focus on what's most important to us: continuing our job building the absolute best law firm this world has ever seen," he wrote.

Lewis said in an email that the dismissal is "the first step" in vindicating himself.

"While the dismissal was based on jurisdiction, the complaint consisted of a mountain of lies contradicted by contemporaneous emails, texts, and slacks, among other items, and sworn affidavits by PB partners, which also contain lies," he wrote. "As I have said from day one, Pierce Bainbridge sought to blunt my truthful allegations of severe dysfunction and financial malfeasance at the firm. They tried to shoot the messenger, but they clearly missed."

In an email after this story was initially published, Tom Warren, a partner at Pierce Bainbridge, said the tentative ruling came down ahead of oral argument, and said based on the argument, Nieto "could very well decide she does have jurisdiction."

Pierce Bainbridge is represented by its own attorneys, including Pierce, Denver Edwards and Janine Cohen, according to a brief filed by the firm. Lewis was represented by Terrence Jones, who runs his own firm.

This story has been updated to clarify that the judge's dismissal ruling is tentative and could still be modified. 

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