It's the greatest vindication of all for Whitney Houston.
A judge in New Jersey has officially dismissed a $100 million lawsuit that claimed the singer owed her dad's company for bailing her out of some touchy financial situations over the years.
Newark Superior Court Judge Franchine Schott declared that the suit, filed in August 2002 by Kevin Skinner on behalf of John Houston, Whitney's papa, was groundless after Skinner failed to provide documents in the discovery phase proving he was co-owner of John Houston Entertainment.
Schott made the ruling on April 5, but news of the dismissal didn't surface until Tuesday, courtesy of Newark's Star Ledger.
After the elder Houston died in February 2003, Skinner took over as sole claimant in the lawsuit, which accused the 40-year-old R&B diva of failing to pay her father's company for various services rendered, including making payments on her Garden State mansion and introducing her to famed entertainment attorney Allen Grubman, who got her off the hook following her Hawaiian pot bust.
Houston's legal eagle, Bryan Blaney told E! Online that the lawsuit was without merit and Skinner was a flake.
"[Skinner] never showed up when he was called upon to answer questions about his case," said Blaney, who claimed that Skinner was a convicted drug dealer who took advantage of the elder Houston.
"I think he developed a relationship with John Houston that was helpful to Mr. Houston in the latter part of his life [when he was disabled], but the best I could discern was that he was his driver," said Blaney. "Other than perhaps being a friend or companion to John I don't think he added anything in terms of business sense, experience and education to Mr. Houston's work."
Blaney said that during the pretrial wrangling Skinner failed to sit for a deposition and did not hand over valid paperwork showing he was Houston's partner. "He was of dubious authenticity. The documents looked like something he typed up...that enabled him to be a shareholder in this corporation," said Blaney.
Neither Skinner nor his attorney was reachable for comment Wednesday, but in a brief phone interview with the Star-Ledger Skinner denied that the judge tossed his suit, claiming he withdrew it himself to give Houston a break after her stint in rehab.
However, Blaney disputed that assertion and the judge's order clearly states that the suit was dismissed.
While his suit may have been deep-sixed, Skinner isn't done with Whitney. He is reportedly working on a tell-all titled The Rise and Fall of Daddy's Little Girl, though he has yet to cinch a deal with a publisher.
Of course, Houston has other stuff to deal with. Aside from her drug woes and hubby Bobby Brown's myriad legal snafus, the fun couple are shopping a reality series that would focus on their (mis)adventures.