Ex's Beef With Burton Burned on Appeal
Barry King/WireImage.com
UPDATE: Following the appellate court decision, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon signed an order Sept. 16 officially dismissing the case. There was no immediate comment from either side.
__________________
Tim Burton has extinguished his ex-flame's heated accusations.
A California appellate court tossed Lisa Marie's fraud lawsuit against her former fiancé after determining that a Los Angeles judge was wrong in denying Burton's motion to dismiss and setting a trial date.
The two sides had been scheduled to face off Aug. 13.
Lisa Marie, who appeared in a number of her ex's films, had accused Burton of cheating her out of assets he supposedly promised her during their 10-year relationship. The duo broke up in 2001.
"Mr. Burton said he was happy to put this chapter of his life behind him," the filmmaker's attorney, Joseph Mannis, told reporters after court Wednesday.
While L.A. Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon had ruled that the matter of whether the Sweeney Todd 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 is now dad to two children with girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter, who since their meeting on the set of The Planet of the Apes has become his latest cinematic muse (not counting Johnny Depp). The couple live in London.
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