A Century City cosmetic dentist with celebrity clients is suing one of his former longtime hygienists and a dental competitor, alleging they are using confidential information belonging to the plaintiff to attract patients to their office.
Bill Dorfman, who has been dubbed “America’s Dentist” and was featured on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover,” filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against dentist Michael Kosdon and his company, Kosdon Cosmetic Dentistry, and the hygienist, Patti Cantor. The suit alleges breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair business practices and conversion.
The complaint seeks unspecified damages as well as a court order enjoining Cantor and Kosdon from continuing to try and lure Dorfman’s patients to their office.
A call left at Kosdon’s Beverly Hills office today was not immediately returned.
Dorfman’s clients have included Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson, Usher, Ozzy Osbourne, Anne Hathaway and Eva Longoria. The lawsuit does not state whether they or any other famous patients are among those Cantor has allegedly solicited.
The complaint states that Dorfman hired Cantor in 1995 to clean patients’ teeth and perform other dental-related services. In 2004, Cantor signed an agreement to not disclose confidential office information or provide information to competitors, the suit states.
Despite her promises, Cantor transferred patient names and their personal information from her desktop computer at Dorfman’s office over a period of several months until the plaintiff found out about the alleged breach in August, the suit states. Dorfman then immediately fired Cantor, according to his lawsuit.
Cantor did not deny the allegations and “quietly left the office,” the suit states. However, she then began sending emails and calling Dorfman’s patients, stating that she was now working for Kosdon and providing information on how to contact her there, the suit states.
Some of Dorfman’s patients have told them they were upset that Cantor obtained their private information without their consent, the suit states.
Cantor ignored a letter sent to her and Kosdon by Dorfman’s lawyers demanding that they stop soliciting Dorfman’s clients and return the patient list the hygienist allegedly took, according to the complaint. Dorfman also asked Kosdon to tell Cantor to stop contacting the plaintiff’s clients and to decline to treat any clients obtained through her solicitations, the suit states.
“For almost two months after the demand was made on … Kosdon, Dorfman’s demands were ignored and Cantor’s unlawful solicitations continued unabated,” the suit alleges.
Kosdon’s lawyers responded in October that the dentist “has no desire or need to solicit” Dorfman’s patients and that he had told Cantor not to do so, the suit states.
“Notably, … Kosdon did not deny that he had personally benefited from Cantor’s conduct and by receiving moneys in the form of payments from the patients of Dr. Dorfman and their insurance providers who Cantor had solicited through the use of the misappropriated patient list and other unlawful solicitation activities,” according to the lawsuit.
