LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has ordered Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis to pay $36,000 in attorneys fees to Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole in a defamation lawsuit stemming from a fight at a West Hollywood, Calif., nightclub last year.
Francis sued Nicole for defamation for comments she made to a reporter after the incident. In February, Superior Court Judge Mark Mooney threw out Francis’ defamation claims against Nicole.
“We’re very happy,” Nicole’s attorney, Paul Clifford, of the California Anti-SLAPP Project, told XBIZ.
“One of the methods SLAPP uses is making the losing party pay attorneys fees,” he said.
“I don’t know about Francis, but this may influence others not to file baseless claims.”
Clifford added that he has good collection attorneys that are working to recover the entire amount awarded by the judge.
Though the defamation lawsuit is now over, the legal battles between Nicole and Francis are far from over. The two also have sued each other for assault and battery, claims that have not yet been decided.
