Joel R. Glucksman
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201-896-7095 jglucksman@sh-law.comFirm Insights
Legal Issues Force Parent Company of 'Girls Gone Wild' to Seek Bankruptcy Protection
Author: Joel R. Glucksman
Date: March 5, 2013
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GGW Brands LLC, owner of the “Girls Gone Wild” video series, has sought protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles, California.
The company and several of its subsidiaries filed for protection as a result of several costly legal judgments. GGW Brands listed less than $50,000 in assets and liabilities of $10 million to $50 million, including more than $16 million in disputed claims. Most of the legal bills stem from a $10.3 million claim by Wynn Resorts against Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis for a $2 million gambling debt Francis incurred during a trip to the resort in February 2007.
In 2012, a judgment of $7.5 million was awarded to the hotel for defamation “stemming from Francis’s public attack falsely accusing Wynn of deceiving customers,” ABC News reports. In September, a jury awarded Wynn an additional $20 million for punitive damages for slander, the news source adds. GGW Brands hopes the bankruptcy will help it restructure its legal affairs. The company calls the lawsuits “frivolous.”
“Yesterday several of the U.S. operating entities for Girls Gone Wild joined the ranks of companies like American Airlines and General Motors having sought reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy code,” according to a statement from GGW. “Girls Gone Wild remains strong as a company and strong financially. The only reason Girls Gone Wild has elected to file for this reorganization is to re-structure its frivolous and burdensome legal affairs. This Chapter 11 filing will not affect any of Girls Gone Wild’s domestic or international operations. Just like American Airlines and General Motors, it will be business as usual for Girls Gone Wild.”
The company is also facing millions of dollars in other claims from women who said they were recorded by GGW without their permission.
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