Jason Wahler bad-boy backstory has just been erased—as far his upcoming court battle is concerned.
Attorneys for the former Hills dweller have managed to persuade a Los Angeles judge to suppress unflattering background information as well as his reality-TV celebrity status for next month's civil trial, in which he faces accusations of roughing up a tow truck driver.
Wahler has already faced criminal charges in the case and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and disturbing the peace for the 2006 incident, in which he was accused of slugging the truck driver and a traffic officer.
Wahler was sentenced to 60 days in county lockup, three years' probation, a stint in rehab, community service and 36 anger management classes.
Unsurprisingly, Wahler's victims hit back against the reality star with separate civil suits seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the verbal and physical attack.
Today's ruling pertained to the complaint filed by the tow truck driver, Dario Stevenson, whose lawyer hoped to tell the jury of the Laguna Beach boy's trouble-prone history, including multiple arrests and jail time.
Superior Court Justice Elizabeth A. Grimes said in her decision that Wahler's previous run-ins with the law, along withl tabloid reports of his heavy partying, were off limits. Although Grimes made her ruling without elaborating, she apparently bought the argument from Team Wahler that such testimony would unduly influence jurors and was not relevant to the case at hand.
At the same time, she gave permission for his counsel to raise some uncomplimentary facts about Stevenson, namely his prior felony conviction for embezzlement.
Grimes has yet to rule on the admissability of the reputed racial tirade directed by Wahler toward Stevenson, who is black. No word when the judge will issue her opinion.
Stevenson's lawyer, Emmanuel Bart-Plange, and an attorney with Veatch Carlson, the law firm representing Wahler, could not be immediately be reached for comment.
The trial kicks off Sept. 2.