The Court Has Decided...

E! Online says that a California appellate court tossed Lisa Marie's fraud lawsuit against her former boyfriend Tim Burton after determining that a Los Angeles judge was wrong in denying Burton's motion to dismiss and setting a trial date.

"Mr. Burton said he was happy to to put this chapter of his life behind him," said the filmmaker's attorney, Joseph Mannis.

The article went on to say that while L.A. Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon had ruled that the matter of whether the director and Lisa Maria had a verbal agreement supporting her claim was an issue for a jury, Mannis argued that it didn't matter—the former model had already signed a settlement giving her $5.5 million and releasing Burton from further financial obligation.

In her complaint, which was filed in 2006, Lisa Marie claimed she was duped into signing that agreement in 2001.

Burton countersued last September to obtain a court order binding her to the 2001 deal. His attorney says that they're still planning to move forward with the suit to get that assurance and try to recoup legal fees.

"Mr. Burton believes he has been put through a long and difficult proceeding at great cost, and he intends to do the just thing," Mannis said.

Burton v. Marie: Legal Battle

Director Tim Burton has been ordered to stand trial in a lawsuit by his ex-girlfriend Lisa Marie, who claims she's owed millions of dollars.

Los Angeles Superior Court Justice Teresa Sanchez-Gordon ruled on the morning of Friday, July 18th, 2008, that a trial is the best means to determine whether Burton verbally agreed to bankroll Marie for life in return for her acting in his films (which include Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, and Planet of the Apes) and serving as his personal manager, as her suit contends, before allegedly duping her into a much smaller payout.

Burton had fought to have his lawsuit tossed. There has been no immediate comment from neither his publicist nor his lawyer.

While Marie turned up for the proceedings in California, Burton participated on the phone, since he is in London, busy working on his upcoming Alice in Wonderland.


The article by Josh Grossberg continues as follows:

In his motion seeking dismissal, attorney Joseph Mannis argued that any sort of oral agreement was not applicable in this case, because Lisa Marie signed off on a $5.5 million settlement. Per the terms of that deal, Mannis argued, Lisa Marie relinquished all claims to Burton's assets and promised not to file a palimony suit.

But the model and actress, who appeared in small roles in many of Burton's films and whose real name is Lisa Marie Smith, claims she only received $2.7 million and was victimized by a conspiracy. She claims that Burton worked with her own advisers to shortchange her.

Burton filed a countersuit last September seeking a court declaration affirming she was obligated to live up to the prior deal.

One of the plaintiff's lawyers lashed out at the director's camp for a bullying tactic in which they threatened to take futher legal action against her if she fought Burton's petition to dismiss the case.

"They said that if we had the temerity to file papers in opposition to their motion for some reason that they would file a malicious prosecution action not only against Lisa Marie but also against me," cocounsel Judd Burstein told E! News. "It's going to be very interesting what the jury thinks of that kind of hubris."

Burstein added his camp was "very pleased" by the judge's ruling.

"It's not unexpected to us. Nice to know that just because you're a big celebrity you can't get your way by cheating and bullying."

The attorney also said that a chance for an amicable agreement was past.

"We've had some [settlement] talks, but it's not going anywhere," Burstein said. "We want our day in court, and it will be a very bad day for Tim Burton."

That day is now scheduled for August 11th.

Burton Denies Duping Lisa Marie

Tim Burton has denied allegations from his ex-girlfriend Lisa Marie that he had tricked her out of promised assets after the two broke up, eonline.com reports.

"The suggestion made by [Lisa Marie] that I engaged in any conduct which was calculated to deceive her...is completely false and completely ludicrous," Burton says in a seven-page court declaration filed Thursday, April 24th, 2008.

Lisa Marie, who appeared in several of Burton's films, sued the director in 2006 for fraud and breach of fiduciary contract, alleging he cheated her out of an equitable division of their accumulated property. Burton and Marie ended their 10-year relationship in 2001, when Burton met actress Helena Bonham Carter.

Lisa Marie claims that the filmmaker agreed to bankroll her for life in exchange for serving as his personal manager and acting in his films, the article stated. The article went on to say that Marie's suit seeks to rescind three previous legal settlements between them, accusing Burton of orchestrating a conspiracy theory—getting various friends and counselors, including her own lawyer, to convince her into accepting a smaller payout.

Burton denies the accuracy of these charges. "Allegations that I did, or intended to do, anything illegal, unethical or improper to cause [her] to sign agreements are complete fabrications," he states in his affidavit.

Barry King/WiredImage.com

The director says he went to great lengths to reach an amicable settlement, selling two apartment buildings he owned in New York and borrowing $3.5 million to pay her. He also claims to have gave $715,000 to the IRS in gift taxes for one of his payments to her.

"My goal was to provide [Lisa Marie] with sufficient resources to permit [her] to take care of herself for the rest of her life, and had nothing whatsoever to do with any legal obligation," his statement says.

Burton's lawyer, Joseph Mannis, also wants the complaint thrown out: "We believe that the lawsuit is frivolous and have filed a motion for summary judgment," says Mannis. "Mr. Burton believes he was very generous in the amount of money he gave her and does not believe he owes her more.

"Mr. Burton also doesn't believe he did anything wrong."



The next hearing in the case is set for July 14th, 2008.

Lisa Marie Told to Revise Lawsuit Against Tim Burton

The Associated Press has reported that, on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007, Tim Burton's ex-girlfriend, Lisa Marie, was told to revise her lawsuit against the director. The article went into detail, saying, "a judge ruled it didn't sufficiently support claims that Burton had backed out of a promise to financially support her. " Marie sued in December 2006, alleging that Burton used fraud to "cheat her out of assets he promised to share with her during their nearly 10-year, live-in relationship." Burton's attorneys said that the director already gave Marie $5 million to sign the contract, "which released him from any further claims to his assets." The judge stated that Marie and her attorneys have ten days to revise the action.



Marie was in four of Burton's films: Ed Wood (1994), Mars Attacks (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Planet of the Apes (2001).




Photo provided by the Associated Press. This picture was taken at the 47th International Film Festival in Berlin on Saturday, February 22nd, 1997, during a press conference for Mars Attacks.