California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Est Founder May Be Ordered to Appear

A Superior Court judge is expected to rule this week on whether est founder Werner Erhard, who apparently has left the area, must appear in court to face a $2-million civil suit. Judge John Dearman will consider an “order to appear” request by San Francisco attorney Andrew Wilson. Wilson is representing Charlene Afremow, a former Erhard employee who has sued Erhard, an est spinoff called The Forum and a lucrative corporate consulting business. Erhard, founder of the est training method, has declined to reveal his location. Late last month, he announced that he was selling a number of assets of two of his companies to a group of employees. Afremow’s suit accuses Erhard and two of his former associates of wrongful termination, age and sex discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation.