AP Photo / Tammie ArroyoThe suit fits for Ed McMahon.
A Los Angeles judge ruled Thursday that the famed Tonight Show sidekick can move forward with his negligence and elder abuse lawsuit against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
In so doing, L.A. Superior Court Judge John P. Shook denied the defense's motion to require McMahon to provide more evidence in order to pursue his lengthy list of accusations.
The 85-year-old TV personality is alleging fraud, battery, elder abuse, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent misrepresentation against Cedars, contending that several doctors provided him with inadequate care when he suffered a broken neck last year, leaving him unable to work and necessitating three painful surgeries.
Per the judge's ruling, McMahon is also still able to seek punitive damages.
And he's seeking a hefty sum. Accompanying his July 18 complaint was a letter that McMahon's attorney wrote to Cedars, stating: "Assuming you carry the minimum [insurance] limits required by [hospital] by-laws of $1 million per claim, you do not have anywhere near enough insurance coverage for the McMahons' claims given the size of Ed's economic losses alone due to his inability to work."
Shook gave Cedars' counsel 20 days to file a response.
Although it only means more paperwork and more billable hours, this theoretically can be considered a high point of McMahon's legal docket.
The former Star Search host, whose financial troubles have made him the poster elder in Hollywood for the mortgage-lending crisis and the importance of sound fiscal planning, is currently the target of no fewer than three separate lawsuits for defaulting on loans and legal bills.
Last month, McMahon finally unloaded the home that helped him into this financial hole to an undisclosed buyer. His publicist wouldn't reveal the selling price, but the Beverly Hills mansion had been listed at $4.6 million—down from $7.7 million in these oh-so-precarious times.