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 3-23-15
Inside Vegas - Steve Miller

Steve Miller is a former Las Vegas City Councilman. In 1991, the readers of the Las Vegas Review Journal voted him the "Most Effective Public Official" in Southern Nevada. Visit his website at: http://www.SteveMiller4LasVegas.com


Las Vegas Lawyer David Chesnoff's Worst Nightmare
"Sealed" Malpractice Complaint is Published on AmericanMafia.com

The Players: Bankrupt Caesars Palace; The Spoiled Son of
an ex-LV Mayor; A Seriously Injured Cocktail Server;
And a Morally Bankrupt Celebrity Attorney

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                  Michelle McKenna                                      David Chesnoff

INSIDE VEGAS EXCLUSIVE!

INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
March 23, 2015

LAS VEGAS - Sometimes What Happens in Vegas, doesn't necessarily Stay in Vegas.

A gag order was filed on March 13, 2015 in the malpractice lawsuit brought by former Caesars Palace cocktail server Michelle McKenna against prominent Las Vegas celebrity lawyer David Chesnoff.  Through a confidential source, INSIDE VEGAS obtained an Amended Complaint that was supposed to be filed under seal on March 20, 2015, a document that was never meant for public view.

The federal lawsuit involves a strangled cocktail waitress who has the audacity to take on a politically connected local attorney, a giant hotel/casino company, and its Vice President who is the former Mayor of Las Vegas.

Because Caesars Entertainment is in the throes of an $18 billion dollar bankruptcy, and its V.P. may be leaving the company soon to try to regurgitate her political career, it's obvious neither party would welcome this publicity, especially in a genre such as AmericanMafia.com.

The malpractice lawsuit is based on Michelle McKenna learning too late that David Chesnoff had an undisclosed financial interest in PURE, a night club inside Caesar's Palace where McKenna worked on January 3, 2009 when Chesnoff's good friend, former Las Vegas mayor Jan Jones-Blackhurst who is now a Caesars Entertainment Vice President, used her position to gain VIP status and $3,446 worth of complimentary liquor for her then-23 year old son Patrick and his friends.

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          Jan Jones-Blackhurst                                     Patrick Jones

According to eyewitnesses, McKenna, who was assigned to serve Patrick's VIP table, was strangled by Patrick when she refused his sexual advances resulting in serious damage to the left and right carotid arteries in her neck, along with other injuries.

Several days after her attack, McKenna received a surprise phone call from a friend she hadn't heard from in years.  Local casino owner Bruce Becker advised her to hire attorney David Chesnoff to sue Patrick, PURE nightclub, and Caesars Palace. However, to McKenna's dismay, after gladly taking the case on contingency, Chesnoff only named Patrick who has no assets, and for the next four years and nine months refused to name McKenna's employers in the lawsuit, saying they were included as the "Doe" and "Roe" Defendants, a statement which was completely false.

Chesnoff helped the case languish by filing four extensions to use up time. In October 2013, McKenna called a friend who told her she had been set up - that Becker and Chesnoff were close friends of Jones-Blackhurst.  McKenna immediately fired Chesnoff and hired new counsel. Chesnoff then stalled another month before turning over McKenna's files to her new attorneys. 

Two weeks before the statute was to run out, McKenna's new counsel tried to name Caesars, PURE, and Jones-Blackhurst as defendants, but the state court judge ruled that after granting four extensions to her previous counsel, McKenna had had ample time to include new defendants. His ruling forced McKenna to settle with Jones-Blackhurst's homeowner's insurance company for $225,000. Chesnoff immediately filed an attorney's lien for $62,970.37 which he collected from McKenna's settlement leaving her with no funds to pay for her life long medical treatment.

INSIDE VEGAS broke this story on December 30, 2013, and my ongoing coverage inspired Chesnoff & Schonfeld, PC to seek a protective order.

According to the gag order filed on March 13, all future documents in this case filed after that date were to be kept under seal with this notice attached: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION COVERED BY A PROTECTIVE ORDER OF THE COURT AND IS SUBMITTED UNDER SEAL PURSUANT TO THAT PROTECTIVE ORDER. THE CONFIDENTIAL CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE DISCLOSED WITHOUT EXPRESS ORDER OF THE COURT.

Protective orders can provide necessary protection, expedite discovery, reduce costs, protect the parties in the event of inadvertent disclosure, and reduce the risk of costly discovery disputes and judicial intervention. They can also keep the public in the dark regarding important issues of public interest and safety. Caesars Entertainment's bankruptcy is causing thousands of people and hundreds of businesses to pay attorneys to try to obtain portions of moneys owed.

Debtors and the public have the right to know that a bankrupt company's totally lax security system is affecting public safety.  Citizens also have the right to know when an officer of the court violates his Oath.  The State Bar of Nevada has proven time and again that they are subservient to attorneys with political connections. And the local District Attorney based on his disinterest in this case, has also proven to be subservient to certain special interests. This important federal lawsuit warrants public scrutiny, and should never have been sealed.

Here is the "SEALED" Amended Complaint:
http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/McKennaAmendedComplaint-3-21-15.pdf
EXHIBIT A: Pages 4 - 24, tell the entire story.

BACKGROUND:
http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Jan-Jones-Blackhurst/1279389945

http://www.americanmafia.com/inside_vegas/12-30-13_Inside_Vegas.html

http://www.americanmafia.com/inside_vegas/12-22-14_Inside_Vegas.html

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/former-pure-server-files-malpractice-suit-against-lawyers-attack-case



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email Steve Miller at: Stevemiller4lv@aol.com





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