LOS ANGELES—In a ruling in which the only surprise may be the amount of the fine, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Minning has ordered adult performer Mr. Marcus to pay $129,360 to Lylith LaVey, the performer who sued him for exposing her to the syphilis virus on set.
The outcome of this proceeding was never in doubt in the aftermath of the ruling last September by another judge involved with the case, Judge Amy Hogue, who gave LaVey permission to seek a default judgment against Mr. Marcus.
As AVN reported at the time, "LaVey's suit, which was filed Sept. 5, 2012, alleged fraud, negligence, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress on the part of Mr. Marcus."
But Judge Hogue was less than impressed with the actions of Marcus and his lawyer, writing in her ruling, “[Mr. Marcus] and his lawyer were ordered by a judge to respond to written questions posed by [LaVey’s] attorney, Adam Rose, and to turn over specified documents.
“Spencer and his lawyer did not comply with the order, according to a sworn statement by Rose," she added.
Hogue concluded, “It appears [Mr. Marcus] has abandoned his defense of this case," and responded by giving LaVey a green light to proceed. The judge also wrote in her ruling that LaVey, who did not contract the sexually transmitted disease from the encounter, "feels that her reputation in the adult film world has been diminished as a result of filming with (Spencer)."
According to the LA Daily News, Judge Minning heard testimony from LaVey on Friday before issuing his order directing Mr. Marcus to pay her the aforementioned amount.
This is not the first punishment levied against Mr. Marcus for the now infamous incident. A year ago this month, as AVN reported, he "pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of exposing at least two adult actresses to a communicable disease. ... Mr. Marcus was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 15 days of community service and three years probation by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Catherine Ewell after exposing adult performer Lylith LaVey to syphilis, along with at least one other performer."
LaVey also sued BangBros in February over the same syphilis exposure incident, which occurred in 2012 on a shoot for the production company. As AVN reported at the time, "The plaintiff, who claims personal injury, is requesting a jury trial and seeks compensatory monetary damages in an amount to exceed $25,000. The Daily News reports that BangBros has filed a motion in that case seeking to have it dismissed.
Pictured: Mr. Marcus, left, and Lylith LaVey.
