Radio Host’s Station Switch Raises Static

As the courthouse turns . . . we dish about sex and marriage . . . a newspaper war . . . Enquiring minds . . . and heavy metal.

The defection of Humberto Luna, Los Angeles’ comedic “godfather of Spanish radio,” from KTNQ-AM (1020) to KLAX-FM (97.9) has resulted in--drum roll, please--litigation.

KTNQ filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting an injunction to enforce its exclusive contract and keep Luna off rival airwaves. But last week, the case moved to federal court as the dispute centered on who holds the rights to several of Luna’s radio characters--Pepe Loreto, Dona Mama, Mamonia, Chente Lucas and El Trompo, to name a few.

Luna, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, spent 20 years at KTNQ, mostly as a popular morning drive-time personality, and was the first Spanish language disc jockey to make $1 million. That was in 1989.

What a difference a decade makes. Court papers reveal that Luna’s ratings declined during the early 1990s. In 1994, it took six months to negotiate his current five-year contract, which expires in August.

Luna jumped ship Dec. 28, after being hit with a 77% pay cut. He wrote in a letter to station owner Richard Heftel: “I took [that] to be an exit sign, which I appreciate. Who wants to work where they are not truly wanted?”

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LAWYERS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND: Remember that lawsuit in which Carol Channing disclosed that she and her husband consummated their marriage just once or twice in their 41 years together? Well, he has counter-sued, saying it isn’t so.

Channing’s estranged husband, Charles F. Lowe, is suing her in Santa Monica Superior Court, charging defamation and infliction of emotional distress. He also accuses Channing of spreading other false stories about him, to wit: that he is gay, that he has squandered her money and that he was physically and verbally abusive.

Lowe also alleges that Channing abandoned him four days after he suffered a debilitating stroke.

Channing’s “acts were malicious, deliberate, willful and done with the intent of injuring,” Lowe’s suit states.

He’s represented by attorney Howard D. Pilch. She’s got divorce lawyer to the stars Neal Raymond Hersch.

Channing is seeking control over her finances and has accused Lowe of “spending like a drunken sailor.”

Oh yeah, the thrill is gone.

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INK STINK ON BRINK: The newspaper war between Los Angeles’ legal publications has ended for now in a standoff.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman declared a mistrial when jurors, who began deliberations Dec. 10, announced themselves deadlocked over whether the respected Los Angeles Daily Journal had tried to force the scrappy Metropolitan News-Enterprise out of business.

The case involved the DJ’s allegedly bargain-basement ad rates for legal notices. The Met News accused the Daily Journal of unfair competition, estimating its losses at $10 million. But the DJ’s lawyer, Bradley S. Phillips, insists that the publication’s pricing policies are fair, and what the market can bear.

According to Met News attorney Thomas V. Girardi, jurors were leaning 8-4 in favor of his client when they deadlocked. At least nine of the 12 jurors in a civil trial must agree before a verdict can be returned.

Everybody’s due back in court Feb. 17 for another try.

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LISA MARIE SETTLEMENT DRAMA: Lisa Marie Presley has settled her defamation suit against the National Enquirer over a June 1997 article headlined “Lisa Marie Suicide Drama.” But if you think that means everybody has made up and agreed to play nicely, dream on.

According to the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, the article in question said Elvis Presley’s daughter was found “crumpled on her bathroom floor, sobbing hysterically,” having mutilated herself and scrawling “Nobody loves me” and “I’m ugly” on her arms.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but the Enquirer says no retraction or correction was required.

Presley, who was represented by famed attorney Daniel Petrocelli, said she is “satisfied with the settlement.”

“I hope suits like mine will force tabloids to think twice before they publish false information about me or others,” she said in a statement.

Enquirer attorney Gerson Zweifach retorted: “All I can tell you is, the suggestion that she was somehow vindicated or proved the story false is totally wrong.”

Don’t expect any big changes in the Enquirer’s celebrity dirt-digging.

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LOOSE LIPS? Metallica, the heavy metal band, is suing Victoria’s Secret, the vampy lingerie maker, for trademark infringement. The dispute in federal court in Los Angeles is over lipstick pencils that come in a color called--yup, you guessed it--Metallica.

The head-banging band claims that putting its name on a girlie product like lipstick can cause confusion in the marketplace, where Metallica peddles its own novelty products such as buttons and backpacks.

Better check the makeup bag for potentially infringing war paint. Let’s see, there’s a Tempting Red lipstick, a Midnight, a Metal Garnet, a Vamp, a French Cognac and a pink one called Yucatan If You Want.

Nope, no rock bands in there.