Tera Patrick can remain Tera Patrick at least until October, after a Los Angeles judge rejected Digital Playground's bid for a preliminary injunction against the adult video and Internet star June 10.
For now, it means among other things that Patrick can bring Totally Tera to KSEX ,which was scheduled to begin Wednesday, June 11, according to TopProTalent.com
"Of course, we're very pleased that the court opted to, and rightfully did, follow the black-letter law in California and rendered a good decision," said Patrick's attorney, David Beitchman, when reached by AVN.com after the ruling from Judge Stephen D. Petersen.
"Digital Playground was seeking provisional relief," Beitchman said of Digital Playground v. Tera Patrick. "The only venue that's going to hear permanent relief will be the arbitration, so what the judge said is, 'The application is denied; we'll revisit certain issues at the case management conference in October and we'll use that date to see how far the arbitration has progressed and make a determination from there.'"
That date will be October 7, 2003.
"We at Digital Playground have taken the position that the former Tera Patrick cannot compete with Digital Playground until expiration of its exclusive personal services agreement with [Patrick] on January 15, 2007, and that it is the owner of the name 'Tera Patrick'," said Digital Playground in a statement released exclusively to AVN.
"In denying our application, the Court expressly stated that the denial was without prejudice and on a temporary basis, and that it appeared that [Patrick] was in breach of her contract," the statement continued. " The Court has scheduled another hearing on this matter to take place on October 7, 2003, for the purpose of re-examining the Court's analysis, and to review the progress of the arbitration and the status of [Patrick's] current bankruptcy proceeding. Ultimately, Digital Playground's right to permanent injunctive relief will be decided at the pending arbitration. "
Beitchman said the permanent status of Patrick's right to use her name remains the subject of a lawsuit "and possible arbitration that have started. And at this point, there's nothing that I can say that we're going to do other than defend this action vigorously with all we can under the law," he said. "But, this is far from over. This is really only a first step."
He said he and his client are waiting for arbitrators to contact them about scheduling. "At this point, there's nothing set in stone," he said.
KSEX first wanted to announce Patrick's addition to their programming lineup June 6, including a statement attributed to Patrick herself. "I am very happy to be part of the KSEX family with my new show," Patrick said then, adding that she would do her KSEX show - likely to feature her new man, Evan Seinfeld of BioHazard - in Los Angeles area studios and from her New York home alternatively.
Beitchman also drafted a formal letter to KSEX president Chris Rick confirming the case events to date, to assure the station that for at least the time being they could work with Patrick "confidently," without fear of legal threats, according to a TopProTalent source.
KSEX had planned to include Patrick as part of a small makeover of their Web appearance and broadcasting lineup, a makeover that includes bringing some new names into their lineup, including Ginger Lynn, Felicia Fox, Lexington Steele, and Gauge, as well as Patrick.
Tim Connelly contributed to this report.
