TV talk show guru Dr Phil is refusing a demand to hand over unedited footage of his controversial podcast interview with the husband of convicted child killer Rebecca Grossman.
Lawyers for the heartbroken parents of the two young brothers Grossman murdered in a hit-and-run have subpoenaed the star's producers, urging them to surrender the full, raw video as possible evidence in the wrongful death lawsuit against the wealthy socialite and her ex-lover, one-time Los Angeles star pitcher Scott Erickson.
In the two-part podcast, Fatal Accident: Inside the Rebecca Grossman Case – which was released last month and then taken off line – renowned plastic surgeon Dr Peter Grossman claimed his 62 year-old wife is innocent of killing brothers Mark, 11, and Jacob Iskander, eight, blaming Erickson instead.
Parents Nancy and Karim Iskander's attorney Andrew Owen served Dr Phil's production company, Peteski Productions, with subpoenas asking for the unedited footage and any documents or communications about the fatal crash that Peter Grossman shared with the TV personality.
'But they refused to produce the material we are asking for and we are now considering our options,' Owen revealed to the Daily Mail.
Unlike Rebecca Grossman, who is serving 15 years to life behind bars for killing the boys on a pedestrian crossing in 2020, Erickson, 57, only received a slap on the wrist with a misdemeanor reckless driving charge that was later dismissed.
But in the wrongful death civil lawsuit, he's also named as a defendant by the Iskanders, who accuse him of racing Grossman, with whom he was having an affair, just before the fatal crash.
In his quest for the unedited Dr Phil podcast content, Owen, argued that it 'should be produced, especially because there could be footage that was edited out for time purposes'.
Dr Phil is facing backlash for refusing to turn over unaired footage of his podcast interview with Rebecca Grossman's husband, Peter, despite a subpoena to his production team
During the podcast, Peter claimed his 62-year-old wife, Rebecca, was innocent of killing 11-year-old Mark and eight-year-old Jacob Iskander, instead blaming her ex-lover, former World Series-winning pitcher Scott Erickson
Mark and Jacob were killed on September 29, 2020, after Grossman slammed her Mercedes into them at high speed as they crossed the street
'Peter Grossman went to great lengths to explain how he and Rebecca Grossman believe the fatal collision occurred and how his wife was blameless,' attorney Owen added.
Erickson was in the World Series-winning Minnesota Twins team of 1991. He went on to play for four other MLB teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers
'During this two-part podcast, Peter Grossman repeatedly claimed his wife's innocence and blamed defendant Scott Erickson for killing the Iskander boys.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Petreski Productions attorney Misa Eiritz to ask why she is fighting the subpoenas and we have not yet received a response.
But in a written objection sent to Owen, she said that the subpoenas are calling for information that is 'not relevant' to the death crash lawsuit and is protected under the First Amendment and under California law.
'They seek information that is personal, financial, proprietary, sensitive or trade secret information,' said Eiritz who added that the subpoena requests are also 'vague, ambiguous, unintelligible, uncertain, overly broad, duplicative, oppressive, unreasonably burdensome and harassing….'
At an ex-parte court hearing Wednesday at Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Huey Cotton ordered Peter Grossman – who is also named in the civil lawsuit as the owner of the white Mercedes his wife was driving at the time of the crash – to turn over to the Iskanders' legal team any documents and communications about the deadly crash that he shared with Dr Phil.
The Grossmans' attorney Po Waghalter objected, saying that the communications were private and if they were aired publicly it could lead to 'salacious fodder in the media' that would 'taint the jury pool' (prejudice future jurors against the Grossmans) in the trial that's scheduled for April.
Her comment produced a wry grin from Judge Cotton who quipped, 'You're concerned about media gossip and Dr Grossman goes on Dr Phil?'
The Grossmans' attorney objected to the release of the podcast footage, arguing the that airing them publicly could create 'salacious fodder in the media' and risk prejudicing the jury pool ahead of the trial set for April
Grossman and his legal team objected to the judge's decision that he should fit for another two- hour deposition as he has already undergone two lasting eight hours
The judge also ordered Dr Grossman to sit for a third deposition of two hours, over protests from Waghalter who complained that he had already sat for two depos that lasted a total of eight hours.
The Iskanders' legal team want to question Peter Grossman about the considerable wealth, unexplained multi-million dollar cash transfers and 'suspicious' property dealings of the Grossmans that could stop or hinder the grieving parents from collecting cash damages if they win their lawsuit.
In particular, they want to know if he was trying to hide a valuable asset by recently transferring title to the couple's spectacular, $13.5million hilltop mansion in Hidden Hills to a mysterious entity called the JB Road Trust, 'which Peter Grossman inexplicably could not identify the members and beneficiaries of', said Owen.
'The home's curious ownership history after the fatal collision is highly suspicious. If Rebecca Grossman is a beneficiary of the JB Road Trust, directly or indirectly, then we more likely than not are dealing with a potentially fraudulent transfer.'
The Grossmans' lawyers countered, saying that many of the requested financial documents have already been provided and that the Iskanders' queries about the JB Road Trust are a 'fishing expedition'.
'The JB Road Trust is not relevant to the accident,' they said, adding that some of the Iskanders' document and information requests in their motion were 'overly broad, vague and ambiguous' or 'unduly burdensome, harassing and oppressive'.
On Thursday last week, a 'mandatory settlement conference' was held at LA Superior Court in Van Nuys where Judge Wendy Wilcox interviewed all the parties privately in her chambers to see if a cash damages settlement could be reached out of court before going on to an expensive trial.
No settlement was reached.
The Iskanders' legal team seeks to question Peter Grossman about the family's vast wealth, unexplained multi-million-dollar cash transfers, and 'suspicious' property dealings that could prevent or limit the parents from collecting damages if they win their lawsuit
The Iskanders want to know if Peter tried to hide a $13.5million Hidden Hills mansion by transferring it to the mysterious JB Road Trust, whose members and beneficiaries their legal team couldn’t identify
Rebecca Grossman made a brief appearance via video from the California Institute for Women in Chino, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles
But Rebecca Grossman made a brief appearance via video from her state prison, California Institute for Women in Chino, about 35 miles east of LA.
Wearing a light blue, short-sleeved shirt, with her graying hair tied back, she looked drawn and apprehensive.
Peter Grossman showed up in person, dressed in a black suit under a dark coat to protect him from the driving rain and wind in Van Nuys.
The Iskanders also appeared on video from their new home in Massachusetts.
Noticeably absent was Scott Erickson – despite Judge Cotton 'strongly suggesting' that he be there in person.
