Posted Feb 9th 2010 9:20PM by TMZ Staff
Lawyers for Michael Jackson's estate have fired back at Joe Jackson's request for MJ's medical records in order for Joe to sue a news outlet over death photos.
Joe claims a published photo of an already dead Michael Jackson is an invasion of the family's privacy. As we first reported, although Joe didn't name the news outlet, "Entertainment Tonight" aired a photo of Jackson -- whom paramedics believed was already dead -- as he was taken into an ambulance from his home.
Joe's lawyer, Brian Oxman, asked the judge last Friday to dislodge MJ's UCLA medical records so he can prepare the lawsuit.
But in papers filed today, estate lawyer Howard Weitzman claims Oxman is all wet -- that Oxman misstated the law in legal docs and that UCLA medical records are totally irrelevant to a death photo lawsuit.
Weitzman also claims the physician/patient privilege prohibits the estate from anteing up the med records.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Michael Jackson
Tags: brian oxman, BrianOxman, court, death photos, DeathPhotos, entertainment tonight, EntertainmentTonight, estate, howard weitzman, HowardWeitzman, joe jackson, JoeJackson, judge, lawsuit, michael jackson, michael jackson estate, MichaelJackson, MichaelJacksonEstate, physicianpatient privilege, PhysicianpatientPrivilege
Posted Feb 9th 2010 8:50PM by TMZ Staff
Tila Tequila just called L.A.'s finest after allegedly eyeballing a stalker outside her San Fernando Valley house.
Tila says a stranger in a gray car was parked outside her house -- someone she claims has been there off and on for the past two weeks.
Three LAPD patrol cars arrived at Tila's house but cops saw no one matching the description.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Posted Feb 9th 2010 7:30PM by TMZ Staff
Good news ladies... Hugh Hefner is going to be a single man ... soon.
TMZ has obtained legal docs making his divorce from Kimberly Hefner official on March 11.
Sources tell us the couple has come to terms on a property settlement which is confidential.
The 83-year-old filed for divorce last September, although he separated from Kimberly in 1998.
Hugh didn't file for divorce earlier because he struck a deal and paid Kimberly a fixed sum and let her live in the house adjacent to the Playboy Mansion.
Kimberly filed a $5 million lawsuit against Hef last August after Hef sold the house and didn't give her profits. He claims he's paid her nearly $12 million since they separated.
The couple married in 1989 and have two adult sons.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Dirty Divorces, Playboy, Exclusives
Tags: divorce, final, hugh hefner, HughHefner, judgment, kimberly hefner, KimberlyHefner, properly, settlement
Posted Feb 9th 2010 5:28PM by TMZ Staff
Erin Andrews wasn't the only woman targeted by her Peeping Tom -- the scumbag taped 16 other women and scoped out several more including celebrities, this according to new court documents.
It's all in papers filed yesterday in federal court in Los Angeles, by prosecutors hoping to convince a judge to lock up Michael David Barrett for 27 months as punishment for surreptitiously taping the ESPN correspondent in her hotel room and posting it on the Internet.
In the docs, first obtained by TheSmokingGun.com, prosecutors claim Barrett "victimized approximately 16 other women in almost precisely the same way he victimized" Andrews -- and posted at least 32 "hotel peephole videos" to the web.
The docs also state that Barrett ran Internet background searches on 30 women, including "other female sports reporters, as well as other television personalities."
In the docs, prosecutors claim Andrews wants $335,558.27 in restitution from Barrett -- citing that she now suffers from "substantial emotional distress."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Erin Andrews
Tags: celebrities, erin andrews, ErinAndrews, espn, michael david barrett, MichaelDavidBarrett, peeping tom, PeepingTom
Posted Feb 9th 2010 3:12PM by TMZ Staff
Nancy Kerrigan's family is lashing out at the Medical Examiner who ruled Dan Kerrigan's death a homicide ... according to the family's attorney.
The lawyer, Tracy Miner, says "The Kerrigan family is extremely disappointed that the medical examiner would release a cause of death without having all of the relevant facts. We believe this finding to be premature and inaccurate."
The Kerrigans are also standing by Nancy's brother Mark -- who was arrested and charged with assault and battery and could now face more serious charges -- saying, "The Kerrigan family does not blame anyone for the unfortunate death of Dan Kerrigan, who had a pre-existing heart condition."
The M.E. ruled Daniel died from cardiac dysrhythmia after suffering a neck injury during the struggle with his son.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Tags: daniel kerrigan, DanielKerrigan, nancy kerrigan, NancyKerrigan
Posted Feb 9th 2010 2:40PM by TMZ Staff
Lil Wayne mouthed off to the judge in his weapons possession case -- and it actually won him his freedom ... at least temporarily.
Lil was scheduled to be formally sentenced today ... to begin serving 1 year in jail, but it didn't happen because Weezy has a date with the dentist to fix all the crap in his mouth.
Turns out Weezy's grill is going under the knife on February 12 so the judge won't throw him in the slammer until the surgery is complete.
But this will be the last oral argument in the case ... the judge said no excuses on March 2, when Weezy shows up with his freshly fixed mouth.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Lil Wayne
Tags: judge, lil wayne, LilWayne, sentencing, surgery, teeth, tooth, weapons possession, WeaponsPossession
Posted Feb 9th 2010 1:19PM by TMZ Staff
Nancy Kerrigan's father's death has been ruled a homicide -- this according to the Middlesex Chief Medical Examiner.
According to the findings, Daniel Kerrigan died from cardiac dysrhythmia after suffering a neck injury during a physical altercation at his house.
The Coroner says Daniel suffered a cartilage fracture to the larynx area, which was exacerbated by heart disease.
As we previously reported, Nancy's brother Mark faces one charge of assault and battery on an elder with serious bodily injury.
The investigation continues. No word on whether prosecutors will now up the charges against Mark.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Tags: autopsy, dysrythmia, fracture, heart, mark kerrigan, MarkKerrigan, nancy kerrigan, NancyKerrigan, neck
Posted Feb 9th 2010 12:31PM by TMZ Staff
Perez Hilton has settled his legal beef with the Black Eyed Peas' manager who punched him last June -- and we're told the settlement goes to charity.
You'll recall Liborio Molina socked Perez outside of a club in Toronto back in June -- so Perez sued Molina but today lawyers were in court and announced a confidential settlement.
Our sources say as part of the settlement, Molina will donate money to charity.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives
Tags: black eyed peas, BlackEyedPeas, liborio molina, LiborioMolina, perez hilton, PerezHilton
Posted Feb 9th 2010 12:15PM by TMZ Staff
It's like a real life Robin Hood -- some schmuck in Finland robbed from the rich (a bank) and gave to the poor (itself) and did it all with a spring-loaded bow and arrow.
And there's another catch: Cops are unsure if the suspect, who's still at large, is a man or a woman. Officials in Finland tell TMZ the suspect was dressed like a woman ... but spoke like a man.
One thing's for sure -- it sure takes balls to rob a bank in broad daylight with medieval weaponry.
FYI: It seems the scheme worked -- the robber reportedly got away with the equivalent of around $6800 in cash.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Tags: bank robbery, BankRobbery, crossbow, finland
Posted Feb 9th 2010 12:10PM by TMZ Staff
Michael Lohan just admitted in court that he's been a deadbeat dad.
Michael went before a judge today in Nassau County, NY -- after Dina Lohan claimed he had fallen 7 months behind in child support.
The hearing was closed and no one said how much Michael was in arrears.
Back in November TMZ broke the story that Michael was $15,100 behind in child support payments.
We're told Michael fessed up to being 7 months behind and promised the judge he'd become current by the time he's back in court on March 24.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Lindsay Lohan
Tags: Ali Lohan, AliLohan, child support, ChildSupport, Dina Lohan, DinaLohan, Lindsay Lohan, LindsayLohan, Michael Lohan, MichaelLohan
Posted Feb 9th 2010 7:00AM by TMZ Staff
Find a successful movie and TMZ will find a corresponding lawsuit alleging a shameless ripoff. Case in point - "Twilight."
Summit Entertainment, which owns the trademark to the stylized TWILIGHT trademark, is suing a company that is selling a "Twilight" DVD.
Here's the short story. Summit is releasing a "Twilight" documentary on DVD next month to correspond with the DVD release of "New Moon." The documentary cover features the title, "Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town," along with an image of a moonlit forest of trees. The back cover features photos of Bella's truck and the "Welcome" sign in Forks, Washington.
Summit claims the defendant, Topics Entertainment, sent copies of a flyer to Best Buy, Sam's Club and Target, advertising its own documentary titled, "Forks: Bitten by Twilight." Summit claims the art on the cover is very similar to the trademarked art and therefore deceptive.
Summit wants to put a quick end to the Topics documentary, asking a judge for an injunction and all sorts of damages.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Movies, Twilight, Exclusives
Tags: copyright, copyright infringement, CopyrightInfringement, lawsuit, likeness, summit entertainment, SummitEntertainment, topics entertainment, TopicsEntertainment, twilight
Posted Feb 9th 2010 6:05AM by TMZ Staff
Comedian Gabriel Iglesias -- a former finalist on "Last Comic Standing" -- had to call in extra security to his stand-up show in L.A. this weekend after receiving 2 threats on his safety.
The comic claims someone fired off an email and a voicemail warning the Fluffy Man to "be careful" while in town.
Gabriel instantly beefed up the security for his show -- and demanded that everyone who stepped into the theater had to be wanded down by officials.
We're told Gabriel joked about the situation during his performance.
Fortunately, nothing happened, but even if something did go down, TMZ has learned Erik Estrada -- a reserve officer in the Muncie Police Department -- was in the house that night.
Nobody messes with the Estrada.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives
Tags: comedy, comic, death threat, DeathThreat, gabriel iglesias, GabrielIglesias, last comic standing, LastComicStanding, threat
Posted Feb 8th 2010 7:50PM by TMZ Staff
Hugh Hefner has been sued for living the good life and refusing to give it up for the sake of his company.
We've obtained a class action lawsuit filed by a Playboy shareholder who claims the company is falling apart and Hugh has intentionally sabotaged two potential deals in the last 6 months to sell the company at a decent price.
In the lawsuit, an investment company that analyzed Playboy's business sent a note stating "we think the wildcard here is Hugh Hefner." The note continues, "If you were Hugh Hefner, 81, would you give up the parade of busty blonds, the fancy mansion and the reality TV show for a payout?"
The suit goes on ... "Hefner has continued to live the good life and make sure everyone knows it. Hefner remains in the limelight, showing up at media events and at the Playboy mansion ... with his girlfriends by his side."
The suit laments, "Today, the price of a Playboy magazine is far higher than the price of Playboy common stock." In 1999, the stock sold for $36 a share. Today Playboy closed at $3.14. The magazine sells for $5.99 ... because of the articles.
The plaintiffs say Hefner runs roughshod over the shareholders and they want unspecified damages.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Playboy, Exclusives
Tags: class action, class action lawsuit, ClassAction, ClassActionLawsuit, hugh hefner, HughHefner, lawsuit, playboy, sell
