Talk about a kiss-off.
A Los Angeles judge has granted Teri Hatcher's request that a lawsuit brought by cosmetics company Hydroderm be moved out of the courtroom and into arbitration.
The skin-care conglomerate sued the Desperate Housewives star for $2 million back in December, claiming she breached a November 2005 "exclusive endorsement deal" by publicly promoting products by rival company City Cosmetics.
Hydroderm said it would never have hired her as a celebrity sponsor had the company known that that she agreed to be interviewed about using City's line, even crediting City with helping her to "appear beautiful at an awards event," per the court papers.
Hydroderm was also ticked that Hatcher purportedly posed for photos showing her applying CityLips pout plumper, a direct competitor to Hydroderm's own Volumizing Lip Serum enhancer
"Hatcher's name, image and likeness have been linked to so many competitors' products (at least 17!) that it is anyone's guess as to what product keeps her skin and lips youthful," the suit stated.
After mulling it over, Superior Court Judge Helen I. Bendix sided with the 43-year-old actress' lawyers, who argued that both parties were legally bound by a clause in her Hydroderm contract to arbitrate any disputes instead of duking it out in a trial.
In court papers, Hatcher adamantly denied violating her endorsement deal, saying that she had lived up to her end of the bargain by performing a number of services for the company. Those included plugging Hydroderm's anti-aging antidotes "in a full-day photo shoot with a top fashion photographer to create first-class advertising and promotional materials for Hydroderm."
Hatcher also claimed she made "invaluable personable appearances and television opportunities to promote its products to its target audience."
The thesp's camp declined to comment on the situation. But Hydroderm's lawyer, Robert Heller, issued a statement suggesting that wherever the case is argued, the company's breach-of-contract allegations will be borne out.
"What happened yesterday has no bearing on the merits of the case. It's simply a procedural matter going from the public courts to private arbitration," read the statement. "Hydroderm is not surprised that Teri Hatcher and her high-priced Hollywood lawyers and publicists would want this case out of the public eye. This legal maneuvering will not change the fact that Ms. Hatcher breached the contract with Hydroderm and Hydroderm will prevail in whatever form."
A status hearing in the case has been set for Sept. 11, by which time the arbitration process should be completed.
Hatcher is currently on a forced break from the Housewives set, which has been shuttered since December due to the ongoing writers' strike. But that hasn't kept the small-screen siren from lining her pocketbook with another celeb endorsement. Last summer, Hatcher signed on to be the face of fashion house Badgley Mischka's fall ad campaign, taking over from the Olsen twins.