■ A Pacific Palisades advertising consultant will not be reimbursed for creating a real-estate investor newsletter for Los Angeles resident Klara Bergman.
Judge Pro Tem Richard Shcolnek ruled that “there was no meeting of the minds, and therefore no contract” between Bergman and Art Detman, an advertising consultant who had worked for Bergman for 15 years.
Bergman had paid Detman “upward of $100,000” for ongoing consulting over the years. But then in December their relationship deteriorated.
Detman, who sued for $1,212, said Bergman asked him to write and design “The Bergman Report,” a monthly newsletter geared towards real estate investors. But it never was printed.
While Bergman acknowledged that they had met to discuss the idea, she told the court she had never authorized Detman to work on the project.
“I did not ask him for a newsletter,” said Bergman. “I asked him for a concept.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 10, 2002. Read the original PDF.