A Critical Operation to Remove an Ex-Fiancee
If you think “ER” doc Peter Benton’s life is complicated, check out what’s going on in the life of the actor who plays the brooding TV surgeon.
Eriq LaSalle is asking Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald M. Sohigian to sort out his personal and legal affairs, which have been complicated by a broken engagement.
According to court papers, LaSalle and his girlfriend of five years, Angela Johnson, became engaged last year, purchased a vacation house together, refinanced it, and then broke up.
They used his money and her name to buy the house, LaSalle’s court papers say, “for purposes of maintaining his privacy, confidentiality, safety and security.”
Now she wants half of what the house is worth.
The suit, filed by attorney Jay Lavely, is essentially a reverse palimony case. It asks the judge to declare that LaSalle owes his former fiancee nothing.
As for avoiding publicity: Maybe the doc dodged the Hot Property column for a while, but here he is in Court Files.
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SOUNDS OF SILENCE: Freshly muzzled by a gag order, former SLA fugitive Sara Jane Olson’s defense attorneys complained in court that they recently had to cancel a speaking engagement at Loyola Law School. Attorney Susan Jordan charged that the prosecutor, Michael Latin, threatened to park himself in the audience and snitch to the judge if they talked about the case. Well, nyah-nyah, neener-neener. Meanwhile, Superior Court Judge James Ideman is thinking about loosening the gag.
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LAWSUITS.COM: New Age musician and erstwhile “Entertainment Tonight” co-host John Tesh is the latest celeb to file a federal lawsuit over cybersquatting.
Tesh’s suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, names a Nevada online company, Celebsites.com, that has registered the Internet domain JohnTesh.com.
Tesh’s own site is Tesh.com, according to court papers filed by attorney Charles N. Kenworthy.
Tesh is suing under a law passed last year that bars the practice of registering an Internet domain in the name of somebody or something famous, and then selling it at an inflated price. Brad Pitt and Kenny Rogers also have filed suits over cybersquatting.
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WHEN DOVES CRY: If former quickie book publisher Michael Viner wants to press his slander lawsuit against ex-Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss, he’s going to have to take a number and go after her in Bankruptcy Court.
So ruled Superior Court Judge Marlene Kristovich at a hearing concerning Viner’s 1996 suit against Fleiss. The civil action concerns snarky comments Fleiss allegedly made about Viner on a radio talk show.
Fleiss filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, a month after finishing a prison stint for tax evasion, money laundering and pandering in connection with her call girl operation. She listed debts of more than $269,000 against $700 in assets.
Viner’s suit is the result of a feud with Fleiss over the Dove book “You’ll Never Make Love in This Town Again.” Two of the authors were former “Heidi Girls.”
Because Fleiss has declared bankruptcy, Viner’s suit is going nowhere fast. Not that he particularly needs the money.
Viner and his wife, actress Deborah Raffin, sold their controlling interest in Dove Audio in June 1997. In October, they won a $13.3-million malpractice suit against the prestigious law firm Williams and Connolly over the firm’s handling of the sale.
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FREE AT LAST: Actress Jena Malone, who has appeared in films such as “Contact” and “Stepmom” as well as several television shows, has won emancipation from her mother. This means that Jena, at the ripe old age of 15, can run her own life and career.
Jena sought to take control of her own affairs after learning that her mother, Debbie Malone, had allegedly “squandered” much of the $1 million the child actress had earned. The mother allegedly spent her daughter’s earnings on get-rich-quick schemes and real estate deals with other relatives, according to court papers.
Superior Court Judge John Henning made the ruling in Family Court shortly after another judge barred Debbie Malone from interfering with Jena’s professional engagements. The mother had threatened to move her daughter to Las Vegas, in effect killing her career.
After changing her mind several times, Debbie Malone ultimately did not contest her daughter’s request for emancipation.
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QUOTABLE: “This is Los Angeles, not Las Vegas.”
* Superior Court Judge Alexander H. Williams III, dismissing several counts of a lawsuit filed by Janet Jackson’s former chef, who the judge said was trying to make “a civil bonanza” out of being asked to pick up prescriptions at a Malibu pharmacy. This, according to the suit, was to prevent public disclosure that Jackson and her then-hubby were being treated for medical conditions such as hepatitis B. That plan sure backfired.