Frustrating co-author

[Puget]

Wow, this person sounds like a nightmare! Even if he deeply believes he is right and you are wrong about the interpretation, that response to a request to just talk about it is crazy. If I were you, I'd spin off the paper you can with postdoc and not crazy co-author, and tell crazy co-author he is welcome to publish his piece on his own/with his trainees, and you and your postdoc will bow out of that part since you can't come to agreement. Unless this would be a career-making paper, not having one more publication seems like a price worth paying for being rid of this person once and for all.

[mathofsorts]

Agreed! My goal is to get out of this as quickly and simply as possible -- protect the postdoc and walk away!