Contract Charlie Sheen Asked Hookers To Sign Contained Forced Arbitration Clause

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
11/18/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: None

By now, you have heard that Charlie Sheen, star of All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 , is embroiled in a “I paid for sex with hookers and porn stars while HIV-positive” scandal. Mainly because he talked all about it yesterday on the Today Show.

And one of the more interesting things to come out about the scandal is that Sheen reportedly asked his dates (<- Euphemism) to sign a non-disclosure agreement before they, um, How shall we say this? Dated .

I’m sure we have all asked a hooker or two to sign a non-disclosure agreement before money changed hands. What is news about the Sheen situation is that the non-disclosure agreement has been leaked. In Touch magazine has published it (and the Daily Mail has !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on line as well).

And it contains a forced arbitration clause. Ha Ha! [Insert joke here about hookers being screwed, etc.]

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! forced arbitration clauses, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

So, if you ever find yourself in Charlie Sheen’s bunker, about to engage in a drug-fueled binge of unspeakable debauchery and his security team asks you to sign a non-disclosure agreement, read it before you sign it. And if it contains an arbitration clause, I would argue against signing it.

And all of the foregoing is meant to be tongue in cheek. [Insert joke]

But this really does say something about the ubiquity of arbitration clauses.

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Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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DISCUSSION (26)

Sweet Trav > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:10

This Steve, is why you're the best.

dogisbadob > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:15

Being that prostitution is illegal anyway, can they even sue in the first place? I know at least some states don’t let you sue for damages incurred while committing a crime.

Of course that’s only if he really did tell them he had HIV. There is most likely at least one hooker he used that he didn’t disclose his status to.

SteveLehto > dogisbadob
11/18/2015 at 08:18

It doesn’t bar all liability. Otherwise he could just shoot the hooker when they were done.

E92M3 > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:20

We all know he is a manwhore. I just hope he hasn’t spread this disease to hundreds of other people. I could see him forgoing protection if the prostitue said she was on the pill before knowing he had the disease. I would hope he’s been using protection since finding out. But then again his doctor said the odds of infecting another person are slim while taking the medication he is being treated with.

Bad Idea Hat > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:23

At what point does someone step in and say that binding arbitration clauses violate everything about the court system and what this country is founded upon?

SteveLehto > Bad Idea Hat
11/18/2015 at 08:24

Depends on who you want to say that. Everyone IS saying it right now - except for the politicians who pass laws allowing this and the courts which enforce those laws.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:30

So in other words, Charlie Sheen works exactly like last season’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

Winning through second period, then losing the whole thing.

georgechristensen > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:32

I guess this is what he meant by ‘tiger blood’

Ash78, voting early and often > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:36

I’ve told people since the beginning that he only signed on to Two and Half Men because he was actually retired from acting.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 08:39

If sheen ever asks you to do the do, you probably should say no anyway.

SteveLehto > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
11/18/2015 at 08:43

Hey! Giving common sense advice is my job!

Sam > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 09:10

You mean that’s not how prostitution actually works? Brb, suing Grand Theft Auto for false advertising.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > dogisbadob
11/18/2015 at 09:15

In the state of CA, what he did is a very serious offense... He’d likely be charged for both and the victims might get charged with their respective offenses, but I’d bet on all kinds of deals to go after him.

SteveLehto > Sam
11/18/2015 at 09:15

The introduction of paperwork ruins most endeavors.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
11/18/2015 at 09:19

Prostitutes do some crazy stuff for money, but you’d think this would be an obvious line (like certain rockers, too).

The thing that baffles me more is that girls throw themselves at many of these guys and this guy actually had long-term (relative) girlfriends. It’s mind boggling. There's only a certain level of risk that's prudent and that's definitely well outside it.

Steve in Manhattan > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 09:23

Back when I was a real lawyer, I was involved in a few arbitrations, most before the AAA. Most of the arbitrators were idiots, impervious to facts and legal argument, and usually biased towards the entity that had specified them in a contract as the final arbiter. In all but one case the decision was shit - poorly written and devoid of logic. You have a better chance in regular court, and that usually results in an ass-raping. Arbitration is worse - a complete scam.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 10:03

Well... Common sense isn’t common. We need more help.

desertdog5051 > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 11:19

I have notice that in the last several years, every contract contains them now.

Roadster Man > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 12:46

Really though- he wanted to keep everything private, so arbitration makes perfect sense: only the arbitrators & attorneys would know about his dirty laundry (euphemism).

SteveLehto > Roadster Man
11/18/2015 at 12:51

And it raises the obvious question: How are all these women suing him?

Well, it turns out they have threatened to sue (and he has settled?) or, if they do actually sue, he would have to ask the court to dismiss the case and send it to arbitration. That action alone would guarantee that the action could not be kept secret.

Roadster Man > SteveLehto
11/18/2015 at 13:26

Of course the action wouldn’t be secret, but at least every little fact wouldn’t get out to the public. Just threatening to sue probably got these people their money anyway. California also doesn’t like arbitration very much, so there’s that to throw in the mix as well.

PS9 > SteveLehto
11/23/2015 at 13:09

Would this contract even be enforceable? I’m not a lawyer at all, but prostitution is not legal in California, and you can’t seriously expect any court of law to help you enforce illegal things you bind someone to do in a contract, right?

SteveLehto > PS9
11/23/2015 at 14:26

The contract didn’t say it was for prostitution. I think they claimed he was hiring them to “entertain” or some such.

PS9 > SteveLehto
11/23/2015 at 14:33

Is that really all it takes? Wow, lol.

Integra420co > SteveLehto
01/19/2016 at 20:38

Ha great title Stevie, let’s call them what they are, not escorts “hookers”!

Integra420co > E92M3
01/19/2016 at 20:39

Virus ..... Hiv not disease