Sunday, February 04, 2007

Judge Shuts Down Paris Exposed

http://www.phun.org/celebrities/paris_hilton/paris_hilton_08.jpg

A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against a Web site peddling personal pictures, videos, diaries, and other items that heiress Paris Hilton once kept at a storage facility.

Hilton sued the Web site ParisExposed.com last month, accusing it of exploiting her private personal belongings for commercial gain. The injunction issued Friday temporarily bars the Web site from releasing Hilton’s Social Security number, health data and other personal information.

Hilton’s spokesman, Elliott Mintz, said Saturday he was pleased by the move.

“I know what this has done personally and emotionally to Paris,” Mintz said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the most disturbing intrusion upon the privacy of a public figure that I’ve ever witnessed.”

The subscription-based Web site was launched last month and claims to have footage of Hilton in a “sexy bubble bath” video and various shots of the 25-year-old socialite in “racy situations.”

Hilton previously said she put her possessions in storage two years ago when she and her sister, Nicky, moved out of a house that had been burglarized.

The lawsuit alleges two defendants paid $2,775 for the contents of the storage unit and later sold the items for $10 million to entrepreneur Bardia Persa, who created the Web site.

A message sent to an e-mail address for Persa on Saturday afternoon was not immediately returned. Persa is due in court on Feb. 16 to address the injunction.