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American Morning
George Harrison Lawsuit
Aired January 14, 2004 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is the doctor who allegedly pressured a dying George Harrison to autograph a guitar getting a bad rap? The Harrison estate is suing Dr. Gilbert Lederman, claiming that he coerced Harrison to sign it. The suit also accuses Lederman of revealing confidential medical information while the former Beatle was on his death bed. Lederman was treating Harrison for cancer.
The doctor's wife is here today to defend her husband. Dr. Josiane Lederman joins us, along with her husband's attorney, Wayne Roth.
Nice to have you both. I know this is a tremendously tough time for you, so I appreciate you coming in to talk about it. You have children. You have a young family. And, of course, there's this $10 million lawsuit now looming over your head.
If you listen to the description of what happened from the Harrison family, they say, as George Harrison was dying of cancer, as he was weak in bed, your husband brought in a guitar and essentially -- again, according to the family -- grabbed his hands and had him autograph a guitar, understanding the value that this guitar would have in the future. I know you said that is just not the case. What happened?
WAYNE ROTH, ATTORNEY FOR DR. GIL LEADERMAN: Let me just respond to that, if I might. There are two sides to every story. We've been unable to put forth our side of the story, because when we were served with this lawsuit, the attorneys for the estate wrote us a letter warning us that if we -- myself or my client -- spoke about their client or his medical care and treatment that they would consider that a breach of confidentiality, and that they would...
O'BRIEN: OK. I understand.
ROTH: ... initiate investigations.
O'BRIEN: And then we will not -- then let's not discuss George Harrison's condition. Let's not discuss it. Let's talk about this -- is there a guitar that's autographed?
DR. JOSIANE LEDERMAN, WIFE OF DR. GIL LEDERMAN: Yes, there is, but I'm here to speak about my husband. What is happening has been very dramatic to our family. We are very upset. The children are really devastated. What they read in the newspaper doesn't really reflect who my husband is.
My husband is the most loving and caring father and physician you can think of. And I'm here, really, to show another side of him, because, you know, when you read things in the newspaper, you believe that the allegations are right. But this poor man cannot say anything, so I'm here to say that what you read is really not the facts.
O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about some of the facts, then. There was a guitar that's in your family's possession.
LEDERMAN: There is a guitar.
O'BRIEN: And it was autographed in the last couple of weeks before George Harrison died?
LEDERMAN: Yes.
ROTH: It was autographed before he left for California.
O'BRIEN: So, at a time when he was well into his illness, days and weeks before he died.
ROTH: I can't discuss his medical condition. I can't even discuss or confirm...
O'BRIEN: Well, that's...
ROTH: ... whether or not Dr. Lederman was his physician.
O'BRIEN: So, you are saying that your hands are tied because of what the Harrisons have said.
ROTH: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: They have complained about the fact that Dr. Lederman made comments to the media after George Harrison died. Was that not fair? He was fined $5,000 by the state health department because of that. You don't think that that was that a fair complaint by the family?
ROTH: Well, he's -- there is no question that after Mr. Harrison died that Dr. Lederman went on television and spoke about his great admiration for him. He chose not to contest charges that were brought against him, which involve revealing information that's considered confidential, but not necessarily what a layperson would consider as a physician-patient privilege.
In other words, if a hypothetical doctor were treating a patient, and the patient told the doctor, "I love sushi," and the doctor publicly said that that patient loved sushi, that would be a violation of the confidentiality statute. But, of course, it has nothing to do with the patient's treatment or care.
O'BRIEN: I hear you. It's a strange analogy, but I think I'm following you on this.
The family has said they want the guitar back. The family has said that there were cards that were signed for your daughters, apparently. They want them back. They want your husband to sign a confidentiality agreement. In all of this -- and I have read articles where you describe the loving things that your husband has done for some of his other patients -- why not just say, here's the guitar, take it?
ROTH: Well the fact is the guitar isn't theirs. It was never theirs. The guitar is their son's guitar.
O'BRIEN: Well...
LEDERMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I had bought for my son, you know...
O'BRIEN: But a random guitar, not a guitar that's a family heirloom.
LEDERMAN: It's just a little guitar.
O'BRIEN: A little guitar. In all of this, why not say...
LEDERMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that's my son's guitar. He's been playing the guitar for years, and that's his little guitar.
O'BRIEN: The family would say, we'll give you -- the family has said we'll get you another -- we get it. He's a teenager. He had a guitar. You want to replace it. Obviously, this is not about a guitar. Every familiar involved here has a ton of money and could replace your son's guitar like that. The family has said this is an autograph that could go out in public and be representative to them -- this is their side -- of a time which is horrible, which brings up bad things for us. Give us back the autographed guitar. We'll replace the guitar. And you all know you could go out and replace your own guitar pretty easily. So, clearly it's not about your son's -- the money or anything about your son's guitar.
Why not just give the guitar back and end it all? Why not give the cards back and say, hey -- whatever your side of the story is, and I know your hands are tied -- why not say, George Harrison gave us the autograph, we were best friends, but you know what? It's gotten unpleasant and ugly, here it is?
ROTH: That would be very easy to do. But I think that, first of all, it's Ariel's (ph) guitar. It never belonged to the family. So, to give it back -- give it back implies that he...
O'BRIEN: He's 14 and he's been playing for a couple of years. No one thinks it's a family heirloom, right? We're not arguing that point.
ROTH: We understand that.
O'BRIEN: I mean, I'm not a lawyer, but that's not the point.
ROTH: We understand that. But if the guitar were to be relinquished and turned over to them, along with the card that he signed for Eve (ph), who was only 10 years old at the time, then it would be interpreted as an admission that somehow the signatures were coerced; that they weren't freely and voluntarily given. And it's absolutely untrue that there was any pressure or coercion involved. It was signed by Mr. Harrison as a gesture of appreciation towards Dr. Lederman.
O'BRIEN: I'm not an attorney, again, but isn't there -- I mean, are you all working out something that could be written up where it says it wasn't coercion, here's your guitar back? I mean, that's what when you hear what the family wants, that sounds is what they want. I mean, you know, again, I'm not a lawyer. But is that something that's in the works?
ROTH: Well, there have been no discussions, but we are meeting with the attorneys, with the judge actually in court tomorrow for the first time.
O'BRIEN: Because other people say hanging onto the guitar, this is now a very valuable guitar. It's a guitar that could be sold or auctioned. It's not just your son's guitar. It now is a valuable piece of memorabilia.
LEDERMAN: I can tell you that everything has been so blown out of proportion. We never thought of all those things. You know, we are not malicious or thinking what we could do with the money. It never occurred to us. And I think things are really blown out, and I don't understand why.
O'BRIEN: Well, it's nice to have you come in. Josiane Lederman -- Dr. Josiane Lederman is joining us this morning...
LEDERMAN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: ... and her lawyer as well. Thank you very much for talking, and I understand that you're hands are tied to some degree, so we appreciate you speaking with us. Thank you.
ROTH: Thanks for having us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 14, 2004 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is the doctor who allegedly pressured a dying George Harrison to autograph a guitar getting a bad rap? The Harrison estate is suing Dr. Gilbert Lederman, claiming that he coerced Harrison to sign it. The suit also accuses Lederman of revealing confidential medical information while the former Beatle was on his death bed. Lederman was treating Harrison for cancer.
The doctor's wife is here today to defend her husband. Dr. Josiane Lederman joins us, along with her husband's attorney, Wayne Roth.
Nice to have you both. I know this is a tremendously tough time for you, so I appreciate you coming in to talk about it. You have children. You have a young family. And, of course, there's this $10 million lawsuit now looming over your head.
If you listen to the description of what happened from the Harrison family, they say, as George Harrison was dying of cancer, as he was weak in bed, your husband brought in a guitar and essentially -- again, according to the family -- grabbed his hands and had him autograph a guitar, understanding the value that this guitar would have in the future. I know you said that is just not the case. What happened?
WAYNE ROTH, ATTORNEY FOR DR. GIL LEADERMAN: Let me just respond to that, if I might. There are two sides to every story. We've been unable to put forth our side of the story, because when we were served with this lawsuit, the attorneys for the estate wrote us a letter warning us that if we -- myself or my client -- spoke about their client or his medical care and treatment that they would consider that a breach of confidentiality, and that they would...
O'BRIEN: OK. I understand.
ROTH: ... initiate investigations.
O'BRIEN: And then we will not -- then let's not discuss George Harrison's condition. Let's not discuss it. Let's talk about this -- is there a guitar that's autographed?
DR. JOSIANE LEDERMAN, WIFE OF DR. GIL LEDERMAN: Yes, there is, but I'm here to speak about my husband. What is happening has been very dramatic to our family. We are very upset. The children are really devastated. What they read in the newspaper doesn't really reflect who my husband is.
My husband is the most loving and caring father and physician you can think of. And I'm here, really, to show another side of him, because, you know, when you read things in the newspaper, you believe that the allegations are right. But this poor man cannot say anything, so I'm here to say that what you read is really not the facts.
O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about some of the facts, then. There was a guitar that's in your family's possession.
LEDERMAN: There is a guitar.
O'BRIEN: And it was autographed in the last couple of weeks before George Harrison died?
LEDERMAN: Yes.
ROTH: It was autographed before he left for California.
O'BRIEN: So, at a time when he was well into his illness, days and weeks before he died.
ROTH: I can't discuss his medical condition. I can't even discuss or confirm...
O'BRIEN: Well, that's...
ROTH: ... whether or not Dr. Lederman was his physician.
O'BRIEN: So, you are saying that your hands are tied because of what the Harrisons have said.
ROTH: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: They have complained about the fact that Dr. Lederman made comments to the media after George Harrison died. Was that not fair? He was fined $5,000 by the state health department because of that. You don't think that that was that a fair complaint by the family?
ROTH: Well, he's -- there is no question that after Mr. Harrison died that Dr. Lederman went on television and spoke about his great admiration for him. He chose not to contest charges that were brought against him, which involve revealing information that's considered confidential, but not necessarily what a layperson would consider as a physician-patient privilege.
In other words, if a hypothetical doctor were treating a patient, and the patient told the doctor, "I love sushi," and the doctor publicly said that that patient loved sushi, that would be a violation of the confidentiality statute. But, of course, it has nothing to do with the patient's treatment or care.
O'BRIEN: I hear you. It's a strange analogy, but I think I'm following you on this.
The family has said they want the guitar back. The family has said that there were cards that were signed for your daughters, apparently. They want them back. They want your husband to sign a confidentiality agreement. In all of this -- and I have read articles where you describe the loving things that your husband has done for some of his other patients -- why not just say, here's the guitar, take it?
ROTH: Well the fact is the guitar isn't theirs. It was never theirs. The guitar is their son's guitar.
O'BRIEN: Well...
LEDERMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I had bought for my son, you know...
O'BRIEN: But a random guitar, not a guitar that's a family heirloom.
LEDERMAN: It's just a little guitar.
O'BRIEN: A little guitar. In all of this, why not say...
LEDERMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that's my son's guitar. He's been playing the guitar for years, and that's his little guitar.
O'BRIEN: The family would say, we'll give you -- the family has said we'll get you another -- we get it. He's a teenager. He had a guitar. You want to replace it. Obviously, this is not about a guitar. Every familiar involved here has a ton of money and could replace your son's guitar like that. The family has said this is an autograph that could go out in public and be representative to them -- this is their side -- of a time which is horrible, which brings up bad things for us. Give us back the autographed guitar. We'll replace the guitar. And you all know you could go out and replace your own guitar pretty easily. So, clearly it's not about your son's -- the money or anything about your son's guitar.
Why not just give the guitar back and end it all? Why not give the cards back and say, hey -- whatever your side of the story is, and I know your hands are tied -- why not say, George Harrison gave us the autograph, we were best friends, but you know what? It's gotten unpleasant and ugly, here it is?
ROTH: That would be very easy to do. But I think that, first of all, it's Ariel's (ph) guitar. It never belonged to the family. So, to give it back -- give it back implies that he...
O'BRIEN: He's 14 and he's been playing for a couple of years. No one thinks it's a family heirloom, right? We're not arguing that point.
ROTH: We understand that.
O'BRIEN: I mean, I'm not a lawyer, but that's not the point.
ROTH: We understand that. But if the guitar were to be relinquished and turned over to them, along with the card that he signed for Eve (ph), who was only 10 years old at the time, then it would be interpreted as an admission that somehow the signatures were coerced; that they weren't freely and voluntarily given. And it's absolutely untrue that there was any pressure or coercion involved. It was signed by Mr. Harrison as a gesture of appreciation towards Dr. Lederman.
O'BRIEN: I'm not an attorney, again, but isn't there -- I mean, are you all working out something that could be written up where it says it wasn't coercion, here's your guitar back? I mean, that's what when you hear what the family wants, that sounds is what they want. I mean, you know, again, I'm not a lawyer. But is that something that's in the works?
ROTH: Well, there have been no discussions, but we are meeting with the attorneys, with the judge actually in court tomorrow for the first time.
O'BRIEN: Because other people say hanging onto the guitar, this is now a very valuable guitar. It's a guitar that could be sold or auctioned. It's not just your son's guitar. It now is a valuable piece of memorabilia.
LEDERMAN: I can tell you that everything has been so blown out of proportion. We never thought of all those things. You know, we are not malicious or thinking what we could do with the money. It never occurred to us. And I think things are really blown out, and I don't understand why.
O'BRIEN: Well, it's nice to have you come in. Josiane Lederman -- Dr. Josiane Lederman is joining us this morning...
LEDERMAN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: ... and her lawyer as well. Thank you very much for talking, and I understand that you're hands are tied to some degree, so we appreciate you speaking with us. Thank you.
ROTH: Thanks for having us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
