A federal judge has upped the ante with regard to just how un-exposed Paris Hilton is going to remain for the time being.
U.S. District Judge George King said Friday that he will issue a preliminary injunction "in short order" that will continue to put the kibosh on most of the personal items parisexposed.com proclaims to offer, at least until the hotel heiress' invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against the Website—and the people allegedly responsible for providing it with a cache of Hilton's possessions—is resolved.
Bardia Persa, named in court documents as the operator of the subscription-based site, was not in court Friday, nor did any attorney appear on Persa's behalf.
King issued a temporary restraining order Feb. 2 that effectively shuttered Paris Exposed, writing in his ruling that Hilton risked "suffering irreparable harm to her reputation" if the site continued to operate unhindered.
"The social value of this material is low, and the extent of the intrusion into plaintiff's privacy is high," King wrote.
He ordered that any documents containing intimate or theoretically confidential information, such as diaries, letters, bank statements, credit card bills and any not yet publicized videos or photos depicting the 25-year-old Simple Life star in a sexual manner (i.e., the stuff that might actually prompt looky-loos to shell out $39.97 a month), be kept offline.
The judge adjusted his ruling somewhat on Friday, saying that the incoming injunction may relax some of the restraints previously placed on Hilton's erstwhile belongings. For instance, certain documents may be usable if the so-called private parts—Social Security numbers, addresses, etc.—are removed.
Hilton sued Persa on Jan. 29, about a week after Paris Exposed launched. Also named in her suit were Nabil and Nabila Haniss, who, according to the "Stars Are Blind" singer's complaint, paid $2,775 at a public auction for Hilton's possessions, which had been sitting in a North Hollywood storage locker while she and sister Nicky Hilton were in the process of moving from one house to another. Persa then allegedly bought the items from the Hanisses for $10 million.
According to Hilton's camp, the moving company charged with keeping track of the goods failed to keep up with the payments for the storage facility, which is why the socialite's stuff ended up on the auction block.
The House of Wax star has also petitioned to have all of the written materials she had stored away copyrighted, enabling her to add a copyright-infringement charge to her invasion-of-privacy suit. She has also charged the defendants with violating her right to publicity.
"I was appalled to learn that people are exploiting my and my sister's private personal belongings for commercial gain," Hilton stated in an affidavit included in her court filing, adding that she was concerned that the info being publicized on Paris Exposed could be used "to steal my identity, or even worse, to harass or stalk me."