The battle is over, and Bob Guiney won by knockout. Whether he can still save his singing career is another matter.
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In the conclusion to a story that began in December, a federal district judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against Bob, the star of ABC's The Bachelor 4, and Wind-up Records, the label which released his CD 3 Sides in November 2003. The suit, filed by Bachelor producer And Syndicated Productions, Inc. ("ASP") (a unit of media giant Telepictures Productions), claimed that Bob's efforts to promote 3 Sides after the end of The Bachelor 4 violated the "exclusivity" provision in Bob's contract.
According to L.A.'s KNBC-TV, Judge Dean Pregerson, an L.A.-based judge for the Central District of California federal courts, ruled that ASP had failed to show that the clause of Bob's contract limiting his "participation" in any media outlet, commercials, or advertisements without the producers' express permission is not overly broad and thus unenforceable.
In addition, Judge Pregerson ruled that ASP had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove its contention that Bob had agreed to be available for publicity and special episodes after his services on the show were concluded. The ruling was consistent with Judge Pregerson's prior ruling denying a preliminary injunction to ASP.
Judge Pregerson did not dismiss the suit with prejudice, meaning that ASP could refile the suit if it were able to produce additional information that would support its claimed interpretation of the contract. However, considering that representatives from ASP were not available for comment about the suit more than a week after the decision, according to E! Online, the odds of a second trial seem very low.
Unfortunately for Bob, who was a member of the Michigan group Fat Amy during the 1990s, and Wind-up, one of the top indie labels in the U.S., his record sales are equally low. 3 Sides cracked the Nielsen SoundScan U.S. Album Sales chart (also known as the Billboard 200) at #114 the week of its release but dropped out the following week, and its sales have been steady but slow ever since.
To turn the decline around, Bob and his band have been on the road ever since the decision came down; a list of their upcoming concert dates can be found here. Currently, the band is scheduled for concerts from Massachusetts to Utah over the next two months. We hope that, for his sake, Bob finds that life on the road is more fun than his former girlfriend-wannabe Meredith Phillips' The Bachelorette 2.