ACQUAINTANCES

Billionaire L.A. Times Owner Discouraged Editor About Story on Wealthy Doctor: Report

A business reporter at the paper was writing a story about Dr. Gary Michelson, whose dog allegedly bit a woman in a park in Los Angeles.

The owner of the Los Angeles Times confronted a top editor over an unpublished article about dueling legal disputes involving a wealthy California surgeon, according to The New York Times. A business reporter at the paper was writing a story about Dr. Gary Michelson, whose dog allegedly bit a woman in a park in Los Angeles. The woman filed a personal injury lawsuit against Dr. Michelson, who then launched a countersuit alleging the woman tried to extort him. In December, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong expressed his displeasure to editor Kevin Merida about the article, The New York Times reported. He then asked to see a draft, and after Merida said that his request was inappropriate, threatened to fire the reporters if they were concealing the final article from him, three people with knowledge of the situation said. Those people told The New York Times that Michelson was an acquaintance of Dr. Soon-Shiong. Merida resigned in January, ahead of massive layoffs at the paper. Dr. Soon-Shiong disputed the characterization of his actions in a statement released Friday.