A DuPage County judge denied a request to dismiss a lawsuit against porn star Jenna Jameson Wednesday, the Daily Herald reported. Ted Bulthaup, owner of Hollywood Blvd. and Hollywood Palms, sued Jameson after she skipped out on two heavily promoted meet-and-greet appearances at the theaters in March that coincided with special screenings of her 2008 movie Zombie Strippers!
Jameson claimed she was sick and sent a doctor's note to Bulthaup. But on one of the days she had scheduled to appear in Illinois, she was seen at the birthday party of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.
Judge Patrick Leston said he didn't agree with claims Jameson's contract was too vague or that it "wasn’t legally binding because it didn’t identify the venues as a limited liability corporation," the Daily Herald reported.
Bulthaup told the Daily Herald he expected Leston's decision: "'It’s the same contract we’ve used for years. It’s the same contract that (actor) Burt Reynolds understood. It’s the same contract that Linda Blair understood — and she’s possessed,' he quipped, referencing the actress from 'The Exorcist.'"
Bulthaup's lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages, while noting the theaters spent "tens of thousands" on event promotion. Jameson was guaranteed at least $10,000 to appear — with travel and other expenses to be paid for by Hollywood.
Jameson was served with the lawsuit May 24 at her Huntington Beach, Calif., residence, but neither she, nor any attorney on her behalf, formally responded within 30 days. That prompted Bulthaup's attorney to request the default ruling during the case's first hearing. Jameson recruited Naperville attorney Paul D. Nordini to defend her, the Naperville Sun reported in July.
Nordini had previously "asked Leston to disqualify Bulthaup’s legal team because of their alleged attempts to 'extort and blackmail' Jameson."
Those attempts were made in an e-mail, the Naperville Sun reported, in which Bulthaup's lawyers said they were "disinterested in following the terms of her contract with Bulthaup’s theaters or rescheduling her personal appearances there" and warned Jameson would be sued if she did not pay $50,000 by May 4.
“This was an attempt to extort and blackmail money from her,” Nordini said of his client in the Naperville Sun article. “Her position is that she was never in breach of an agreement, and was engaged in trying to reschedule” her appearances, he said.