Mixed Verdict Returned in James Brown Case

James Brown was cleared of sexual harassment and emotional distress allegations Tuesday morning in a civil lawsuit brought by former employee Lisa Ross Agbalaya, but the jury found Brown’s company, the James Brown Enterprises Inc., had wrongfully terminated Agbalaya. Brown was at home in South Carolina as the verdict was read, but his lawyer, Debra Opri, immediately reached him by phone. The Godfather of Soul wept when he heard the news, Opri said.

“We won! We won! We won!” Opri announced to waiting reporters. Agbalaya, who had listened to the verdict with eyes closed, took comfort from her parents and her husband. “It was certainly a disappointment given the evidence,” said Agbalaya’s attorney Matthew Herrell. “We have absolute confidence in the honesty of our client.” He added, “the bottom line is, we got a wrongful termination verdict.”

The jury was scheduled to determine the amount of damages on Tuesday afternoon.

Opri told reporters she plans to appeal that verdict. “The jury agreed with our position that this was a frivolous lawsuit and the only cause of action for wrongful termination was against a company that was not an originally named defendant,” she said. Opri contends that Agbalaya’s suit wasn’t valid because she didn’t use the company’s legal name in the complaint. She called it The New James Brown Enterprises Inc.--James Brown West, not James Brown Enterprises Inc., Opri said.

Although Agbalaya’s attorneys amended their complaint with the legal name, Opri intends to appeal the verdict based on the original suit, she said.

“This is a glitch,” she said. “It’s easy to overturn on appeal.”

Agbalaya, who managed Brown’s West Coast operations, testified that from July 1999 to February 2000, Brown repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances and that when she refused them, she was fired.

Brown has denied Agbalaya’s allegations and says he fired her because financial troubles forced him to close his West Coast office.

Agbalaya’s suit demanded $2 million for sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Designing Man

Thomas Sandell blew out the candles of his birthday cake, blushing slightly. “Yeah, I’m turning 25,” he said. “Again.”

The birthday boy may not be a household name in the United States yet, but in Europe, the Swedish designer is a rising star of architecture, and he’s determined to export his vision of sleek but functional design to the United States.

Sandell, who actually turned 43, was honored Sunday evening by a dozen of his countrymen at the Santa Monica home of Andreas Ekman, the Swedish consul general. After a three-course dinner, Sandell chatted about contemporary inspirations. Frank Gehry’s name came up, and Rem Koolhaas was mentioned. “Yeah,” said Sandell with a smile, “he’s the rock star of architecture.”

But Sandell, who Tuesday was to give a speech to students in Pasadena, joked that his talk would feature another noted architect:

“Me, myself and I.”

A Laughing Matter

“Un-Cabaret” has never been about punch lines, said comedian Bob Odenkirk, and he wasn’t joking.

Rather, at this Hollywood institution, the story’s the thing as performers like Odenkirk mine the humor in what some might describe as the most pathetic and embarrassing parts of their personal lives. “I’m really dreading the CD,” he said, referring to the newly released “Beth Lapides’ Un-Cabaret--The Un & Only,” which features live recordings of performances by Odenkirk, Andy Dick, Merrill Markoe, among others.

Despite his trepidations about the CD, Odenkirk had showed up for its release party Saturday night in Hollywood, as had Julia Sweeney, who was wearing a Truthseekers sweatshirt. The Sweeney bit immortalized on the CD is titled: “I recently started having sex again,” and such candor is typical at Un-Cabaret. The confessional nature of the show provides Sweeney with details about her colleagues’ current travails and obsessions. “I know everything,” she said. “It’s almost like a newsletter.”

City of Angles runs Tuesday through Friday. Email:angles@latimes.com