Heath Ledger Coke Suit Nearly Goes Flat

Judge dismisses 11 of 12 allegations filed by freelance reporter appearing on drug-fueled footage with late actor

The freelance reporter at the center of an ongoing legal battle concerning the late Heath Ledger has been ordered to do a little fact-checking on her claims.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John S. Wiley has dismissed 11 of the 12 allegations the so-called Jane Doe plaintiff has lobbed against the Splash News agency for a 2006 video in which she and Ledger appeared to be in the vicinity of some illicit substances. Wiley said the plaintiff failed to properly state her legal claims and must modify the suit if she wishes to proceed.

The unnamed woman had originally claimed she was the victim of fraud, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress or negligence and trespass, though the judge ruled that, as written, her lawsuit only accounts for the latter charge.

She has 15 days to amend her complaint or the lawsuit will be tossed.

The plaintiff has opted to remain anonymous to avoid any added publicity or public ire. She filed the lawsuit April 11, alleging that the video, shot at the Chateau Marmont in January 2006 at a post-SAG Awards party for Brokeback Mountain, was taken without her consent and that Ledger was also duped into being on camera.

Wiley, however, said that based on the information in the lawsuit, only Ledger himself could claim emotional distress and unjust enrichment from the illegal footage, seeing as how his presence on the tape was the only thing that made it valuable.

Wiley said that the plaintiff herself was merely "incidental" to the footage, appearing as "just a blurred face with a voice that nobody recognized."

Per the suit, two Splash photographers, Eric Munn and Darren Banks, whom the plaintiff was dating at the time, tricked Ledger into heading to their hotel room and then offered him cocaine, all with the camcorder rolling.

Jane Doe claims the shutterbugs informed her the tape had long been destroyed and only after Ledger's Jan. 22 death did she realize the footage existed, after seeing promos for it on Entertainment Tonight. (Under pressure from Ledger's family, friends and reps, E.T. ultimately decided not to air the tape.)

There was no immediate comment from Splash, which claims the suit is bogus and has sought a dismissal of the case for months.