A judge on Wednesday dealt a serious but possibly temporary blow to a lawsuit filed by a celebrity mag reporter world Health Organization has accused a paparazzi agency of secretly motion-picture photography Heath Ledger doing drugs in her hotel room.
Superior Court Judge John S. Wiley Jr. tentatively pink-slipped 11 of 12 claims filed against the federal agency and deuce photographers, expression most of the allegations lacked legal standing.
He allowed attorneys to file an amended complaint that could restore some of the claims.
The woman, identified in court documents only as "Jane Doe," sued Splash News & Picture Agency and iI of its photographers in April, alleging fraud, trespass, unjust enrichment and other claims over the motion-picture photography of Ledger in 2006.
The woman was on assignment for People magazine at the time.
According to the lawsuit, the tape was made after the Golden Globe awards in January 2006 and wasn't revealed until after Ledger's death from an accidental prescription drug drug overdose earlier this year. "Entertainment Tonight" and its sister show, "The Insider," had planned to air the footage, merely canceled those plans after feeling pressure from publicists and other Ledger supporters.
The video afterwards surfaced online.
The lawsuit states the video recording was shot from a balcony of the reporter's hotel room, and that Ledger became upset when he realised he was being taped. The photographers placated Ledger by relation him they would destroy the mag tape, the suit claims.
Mara Buxbaum, a publiciser who delineated Ledger, did not return a earphone call or e-mail seeking comment.
Ledger - who has been celebrated this summer for his role as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" - was already an established player when the tape was made. Indeed, the suit claims the video was shot hours after Ledger appeared at the awards show, where he was nominated as best doer for "Brokeback Mountain."
The case claims the video shows Ledger doing cocaine and that some of the drugs were supplied by the photographers.
The reporter's likeness is bleary on the video.
That element, and the woman's designation for People, were winder reasons for Wiley's decision to remove most of the claims from the suit.
"Jane Doe is as far as the Heath Ledger public is concerned, a complete unknown," Wiley said. "She's not a feature. She's some hazy bystander."
Wiley too noted that the newsperson had dated one of the photographers, and that the alleged intrusion of her privacy took place in a hotel room she had apparently rented to conduct interviews in. "It's a professional stage setting, not a personal setting," Wiley said.
The judge sided with defence attorneys, wHO argued that the adult female could not make many of her claims on behalf of Ledger. "The tape's valuable because of Heath Ledger, not because of Jane Doe," Wiley said.
Neville Johnson, who is representing the reporter, told Wiley his client was also harmed by the video.
"It ruined her," he shouted at one point during the hearing. "She didn't make a taradiddle out of it."
The woman's suit claims her inclusion on the tape has damaged her ability to work.
"Just because she's a member of the press out, she has the same rights as anyone else," Johnson said.
He said after Wednesday's sense of hearing that he thinks a revision of the lawsuit will furbish up many of the reporter's claims.
An lawyer for Splash News and its photographers declined to comment after the hearing.
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