EXCLUSIVE
Former Hollywood journalist Anita Busch is pushing ahead with a lawsuit against Michael Ovitz and AT&T for damages stemming from the Anthony Pellicano wire-tapping scandal, TheWrap has learned.
In her complaint Busch accused the power broker and other defendants of “threats and assaults on (her) life,” stemming from a notorious incident in which a dead fish and a rose was left on her windshield with the note “Stop!”
The threat and the federal investigation that flowed from it riveted Hollywood and the rest of the country for the better part of a year until the private investigator behind it all, Anthony Pellicano, ended up in jail.
Also Read: Ovitz Rejects Anita Busch's Lawsuit, Says "She Knew the Risks"
That lawsuit and numerous others were suspended by a judge during criminal proceedings, but the stay has been lifted over the course of several months, leading to the flurry of renewed legal action.
"The civil action is proceeding now," Eric George, an attorney for Ovitz, wrote to TheWrap. "Much of this litigation was kept on hold for a lengthy time, first while the criminal action was pending, and then while the civil proceedings continued to be reassigned to one judge after another."
Busch was briefly deposed earlier this month but left early due to illness, according to someone close to the case.
A multitude of other lawsuits, including by actor Keith Carradine and Hollywood lawyer Steven Kolodny, have also been revived, along with a class action suit against AT&T for wiretapping.
“They’ve been filed, we’ve been in court. But all of them were stayed while the criminal action was taking place,” said attorney Mark Geragos, who represents Carradine, Kolodny and the class.
Said Geragos: “We’re on track to do discovery, and to get a trial date. We believe we’ll win
at trial and the damages will be substantial. ”
Read also: Pellicano, Christensen Guilty, Wish I Cared More
The law provides for a $5,000 penalty for every instance of wire-tapping, which in this case could add up to a hefty sum, apart from other damages being sought.
Geragos said that numerous other civil lawsuits had already been settled out of court, but declined to give details, citing confidentiality agreements.
In her complaint, the former journalist claims that threats and assaults orchestrated by the private investigator – famously including a dead fish on her windshield -- “brought her illustrious career to a halt.” She is seeking unspecified damages for threats, having her computer hacked and, the complaint says, her life threatened.
The complaint (read it here) was filed in L.A. County Superior Court on Nov. 25, 2008. It identifies Ovitz as one of 100 John Does.
It lists familiar names from the trial: Mark Arneson, a 29-year LAPD veteran and Rayford Earl Turner, former employee of SBC Telecommunications (which bought AT&T).
