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Deborah Palfrey
The accused “Beltway Madam” appears to have learned a few legal lessons from the owner of a Florida escort agency who unsuccessfully sued clients after he was convicted of running a prostitution ring.
Deborah Jeane Palfrey didn't name any clients as defendants in the breach-of-contract suit she filed March 9, just a week after her indictment on charges of racketeering and money laundering. Instead, she is suing 15 women she employed as escorts, 14 of them so far unnamed.
Dr. Paula Neble and the Jane Doe defendants, the complaint says, entered into contracts with her to “provide solely legal services” to clients, but violated those agreements
by engaging in illegal sexual activities with customers of the escort service without the knowledge or consent of Plaintiff.
But a federal judge has temporarily stayed proceedings in the case until March 26, finding "reasonable grounds to believe that the purpose of the civil suit is to dissuade or discourage those defendants from testifying against [Palfrey] in [the] criminal action."
Palfrey, 50, has the same civil attorney -- Montgomery Blair Sibley of Rockville, Md. -- as the former owner of the Florence Dating Service in South Florida. Arthur “Big Pimpin' Pappy” Vanmoor sued six clients in January 2006, alleging that he contracted with them to provide only services of an “expressly legal nature” and was unaware of prostitution activities.
A judge summarily dismissed the case, finding under the doctrine of collateral estoppel that Vanmoor's criminal conviction in 2004 barred him from pursuing civil remedies.
“Necessary to that adjudication was a conclusion that Vanmoor hired women to work as prostitutes through the escort service and that he was aware of the illegal conduct occurring with customers of the escort service,” U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas wrote in his order. “Thus, Plaintiff cannot assert in this case that he was not engaged in or aware of such conduct.”
Palfrey hasn't been convicted of anything yet. And her contract evidence, at least, looks stronger than that of Vanmoor, who could only cite the the credit card authorization signed by clients, which said: "Cardholder states that this transaction is not for illegal activity.”
Palfrey attached to her suit a blank form headed "Conditions of Employment Agreement," which states that employment as an escort "expressly does not encompass in any way, shape or form any sexual act, favors or other behavior prohibited by law."
But the temporary stay on the case doesn't look good for Palfrey. If it remains in effect and the "Beltway Madam" is convicted of criminal charges, she would end up in the same legal basket as Vanmoor -- precluded under collateral estoppel from relitigating whether her employees engaged in prostitution without her knowledge or consent.
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UPDATE ... On March 22, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ordered an indefinite stay on the civil case to prevent witness harassment and barred Palfrey from bringing any similar suits.
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By Matthew Heller
3/16/07
With not much left of her reputation as a “married woman who is enjoying her life with husband and baby,” Britney Spears has dropped her appeal of the dismissal of her $20 million sex-tape defamation case against Us Weekly magazine.
The beleaguered teen idol had split from husband Kevin Federline and flashed her privates by the time she filed the appeal in January. And her public image hasn't exactly improved since then, what with the notorious head-shaving meltdown and admission to a Malibu rehab facility for an addiction problem.
Spears's high-powered attorney Marty Singer may now have a libel-proof client. He requested the voluntary dismissal of the appeal March 15 before he had even filed his opening brief.
The case is still active in Los Angeles Superior Court pending resolution of the defense's motion for attorney's fees. Us Weekly has been granted a delay in filing the motion -- which may indicate a settlement of the fees issue is in the works.
Spears alleged the magazine fabricated a story that a member of her entourage had obtained a copy of an "X-rated" tape containing "raunchy footage" of her with Federline.
The article, she claimed, was “very damaging to my career and reputation” because she wished to be seen as a "married woman who is enjoying her life with husband and baby.”
In November, a Beverly Hills judge didn't buy into the image makeover effort and granted the defense's anti-SLAPP motion to strike, noting that Spears herself had “put her modern sexuality squarely, and profitably, before the public eye.”
Tabloids are reporting in the latest Britney bulletins that she has been demanding special food in rehab and refusing to pick up after herself. "Britney has a seriously bad attitude problem," a source told Star magazine.
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Other Britney Case Sources
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