TAMPA, Fla. — A recent episode of intellectual property (IP) law podcast "Clause 8" spotlights the career of Florida attorney Frank Jakes, who speaks about his current fame as the lawyer who questioned Joe Exotic on behalf of client Carole Baskin in the hit Netflix docuseries "Tiger King," and also about a peculiar lawsuit in which he had to defend Larry Flynt from a series of lawsuits by a JFK conspiracy theorist.
"Clause 8," hosted by Harrity & Harrity partner Eli Manzour, presents a series of interviews "with interesting and influential personalities in the IP field," according to producers.
The latest episode chronicles the career of experienced Florida litigator Frank Jakes, founder of the Intellectual Property Group at the firm of Johnson Pope in Tampa.
“There’s a good chance that you have recently seen him questioning Joe Exotic in the Netflix documentary ‘Tiger King,’” the episode description reads. “However, even before successfully representing Carole Baskin and Big Cat Rescue, Frank Jakes was already a legendary trial attorney in Tampa who handled lots of cases involving high-profile parties and interesting personalities and won many millions of dollars in verdicts.”
Besides going in-depth into the details of the Baskin-Exotic dispute, Jakes and Manzour discuss a notorious 2005 case where the litigator represented Larry Flynt and Larry Flynt Publications in a lawsuit brought forth by a JFK conspiracy theorist.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Clearwater resident Clarence Otworth sued Larry Flynt and Larry Flynt Publications, for breach of contract.
“It seems that in 1967, Flynt stated in Hustler: ‘Help bring JFK's killer to justice: $1 million reward,” the Tampa Bay newspaper reported in 2005. “Otworth missed the offer at the time. But, lo and behold, when ‘The People vs. Larry Flynt’ aired on cable television recently, Otworth saw Flynt, played by actor Woody Harrelson, mention the offer and say it would be worth $1 million to him to know who killed Kennedy.”
According to the lawsuit, after watching the film, Otworth “bundled up his evidence and shipped it to Hustler. Back came the disappointing reply: ‘Mr. Flynt is not interested in pursuing the matter about which you wrote.’”
But Otworth claimed in court that by sending his research he had in fact “performed services requested by the defendant. The services rendered by the plaintiff had a fair and reasonable value of $1 million dollars, and the defendant failed to pay for the services rendered."
Jakes told the Clause 8 podcast that Otworth’s decision to defend himself, and the plaintiff’s obsession with suing judges and lawyers as part of an alleged massive coverup, had resulted in a lengthy headache for him.
Otworth, according to Jakes, even sued the lawyer personally, accusing him of being an accessory to the JFK assassination.
A bemused Jakes pointed out that he was 5 years old in 1963.
To listen to the Frank Jakes episode of "Clause 8," visit the IPWatchdog website.
