In the latest development in the Paris Hilton sex tape scandal, according Hilton family lawyers, Rick Salomon, the ex-paramour featured in the now notorious film with Hilton, has offered to drop his $10 million defamation lawsuit against the Hilton family in return for the rights to distribute the film on a "pay-per-view basis." For his part, Soloman's lawyer denies that any such offer was made, terming the allegation "an absolute fabrication."
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Shortly after filing the Hilton lawsuit, Salomon, also filed a second $10 million copyright infringement and invasion of privacy lawsuit against against the company that had originally planned to market the tape, adult entertainment provider Marvad Corp. In the lawsuit Salomon claims that the tape was stolen from his possession by his friend Don Thrasher and that he never authorized sale of the tape.
In response, Marvad sued Thrasher, the friend who sold it the tape to Marvad in return for a $50,000 advance against 30% of the gross revenues collected from the tape, for... yes, you guessed it, $10 million. In its suit Marvad claims that Thrasher misled them into believing that he owned the tape.
For his part, Thrasher continues to insist that he was given the tape by Salomon and was merely acting as Salomon's agent. "We had an agreement to sell the tape, He gave me the tape. Period." Thrasher stated at the time. Thrasher also contends that he cashed the $50,000 advance check that he received from Marvad and gave half to Salomon.
Considering that in our original report we theorized that the actual purpose of Salomon's Hilton family lawsuit was to clearly establish his sole rights to the film and regain his ability to profit as much as possible from the tape, the disclosure of Salomon's settlement offer should come as no surprise.
For their part, the Hilton's don't seem interested in making it that easy for Salomon. According to TheSmokingGun.com, in a January 15 Los Angeles Superior Court filing, Hilton lawyer Heather McCloskey termed the Salomon settlement offer "beneath contempt," noting that the indecent proposal was sent to Rick Hilton "through a third party" who was not identified in the defense motion.
When contacted by The Smoking Gun, Martin Singer, Salomon's attorney, told the website that the reported settlement offer was "an absolute fabrication," concocted by the Hiltons in an attempt to "besmirch my client."
