Lawsuits are two for the books
Suing writers? No, that is not something I would approve of.
There is a New York-based outfit called the Penn Group that specializes in ghostwriting and college counseling. Lately it has taken on a new specialty: threatening to sue, and in one case suing , writers with whom it has had beefs.
Since the beginning of the year, Penn has been pursuing a $1.8 million lawsuit against Somerville-based psychologist/writer Lauren Slater for breach of contract, tortuous interference with business relations, and slander. Slater, a high-talent, high-maintenance individual, is author of "Prozac Diary" and "Opening Skinner's Box." If you've been reading Rosie O'Donnell's blog -- and who hasn't? -- you would know that Slater helped write O'Donnell's books, "Find Me " and "
The papers filed in Penn Group v. Lauren Slater illustrate the familiar stages of a relationship breakdown. There is the initial euphoria when Brad and Evan Bailyn, the two young brothers who run Penn, land the services of the award-winning writer. (To Slater: "Great stuff! You've really been coming through with all these projects lately . . . Evan.") Then comes disenchantment, when, after several ghostwriting jobs, Slater objects to the 60-40 revenue split. (To Penn, from Slater: "I think the money thing is sleazy and its [sic] definitely what keeps me on edge." Also: "I cannot accept any arrangement in which the Penn Group's cut is more than 20 percent.")
Then comes name-calling, as the Bailyn brothers mock an e-mail from Slater's former lawyer, now a co-defendant in the lawsuit: "Blah, blah, blah. It's your fault, you're bad, I don't like you." And then comes the suit, with Penn accusing Slater of violating a non-compete clause by negotiating with a client, Larry Rosenberg of BR Consulting , behind their backs. Slater's new lawyer, Mark Lawless , argues that Slater had not signed the non-compete agreement in question, and that "Rosenberg's people said they only wanted to work with Lauren."
Curiously, a similar story was unfolding on the West Coast. Last year, author Zac Unger , an Oakland firefighter who wrote a book called "Working Fire: The Making of an Accidental Fireman, " told Penn he would ghost-write a guide to hip-hop etiquette (!) for one Tavarius Taylor . Then, before signing a contract, Unger changed his mind. "The first thing they said was, 'Well, we are going to sue you,' " Unger told me. "They're just so weird."
It turns out that Unger is married to Shona Armstrong , the proverbial high-powered lawyer, who counseled him on how to avoid being served with papers. "Our lives have been thrown into disarray by these mean-spirited children," she says. "It's been stressful even if there's no merit to their case." After I initially contacted him earlier this month, Unger e-mailed me: "I called Penn Group today to ask if they were going to let it drop and Brad Bailyn said, 'We've been really busy lately. We'll probably get to it in two or three months.' "
The Bailyn brothers declined to be interviewed for this column.
The rush to the courthouse isn't doing any favors for Penn. In the Slater case, Evan Bailyn filed a motion to seal from public view the fact that he uses the pseudonym "Sandy Resnick" when dealing with Penn Group clients. Opposing the motion, Lawless wrote that Bailyn didn't want Penn clients to discover his association with the following websites:
"i) a website discussing Mr. Bailyn's views on love, sex, his 'Peter Pan Syndrome,' and his little dog Bootsy. (www.evanbailyn.com)
"ii) a website devoted to 'cartoon dolls' (www.cartoondollemporium.com)
"iii) a highly dubious list of 'recent projects' (www.pegr.com/projects.html)."
Lawless's filing also mentions Bailyn's connection to sparrowpapers.com , which features PhD thesis writing advice from "Bob Sparrow," described as a Yale graduate. Yale spokeswoman Gila Reinstein told me that "there is no Robert Sparrow in our records."
Alex Beam is a Globe columnist. His e-dress is beam@globe.com. 
