Paris Hilton was on hand yesterday for the second day of court to defend herself against a lawsuit that has been brought against a group of investors who claim that she did not fulfill her contractual agreement with them to adequately promote their film Pledge This! As you may recall, yesterday we saw a photo and courtroom sketch of Paris in court the day before listening to the plaintiff’s case against her. On Friday, it was her turn to take the stand in her own defense … and apparently make friends with U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno:

Paris Hilton repeatedly fussed with her hair and makeup in a federal courtroom Friday, sported six-inch stiletto heels and a black dress and amused the judge with a little wave on the way to the witness stand. Once on the stand, though, Hilton was businesslike when it came to defending herself against an $8 million lawsuit’s claim that she didn’t do her part to promote the 2006 box-office bomb “Pledge This!” She acknowledged in court the movie didn’t turn out very well but insisted she plugged it for everything she was worth. “If I have my name attached to something, I want it to be as big as it can be,” the 28-year-old heiress, model and actress testified. “It could have been a lot better if it was done more professionally. I wanted it to do as well as possible.” Hilton is accused by an investor’s lawsuit of turning her back on the film, which made just $2.9 million, at a crucial time when it was being released on DVD and in foreign markets. The lawsuit seeking $8.3 million in damages claims she violated her contract by rejecting or ignoring requests by producers to appear on talk shows and do radio and magazine interviews for the film. Hilton insisted she was never told her contract required appearances after the October 2006 premiere of “Pledge This!” and said she spent more than two years promoting it beforehand, including two high-profile trips to the Cannes Film Festival in France. She also testified during four hours on the stand that she relied on her managers and agents to vet most of her promotional appearance offers because she was constantly working on projects ranging from TV shows and films to a lines of perfume and handbags. She wasn’t aware of many suggestions made by the “Pledge This!” producers, she said. “My people handle my schedule. I’m a brand. I’m a businesswoman. I have 13 different product lines. I’m always working,” Hilton said. The trial is being heard by Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno, who reacted with surprise when Hilton gave him a little wave before testifying. “I’ve never had a witness wave at me before,” the judge cracked. In another exchange, Moreno was puzzled by the title of Hilton’s current reality show, “My New BFF.” “What does that mean?” he said. After Hilton gave the title — “Paris Hilton’s My New Best Friend Forever” — the judge remarked “This will be my best case forever.” Without missing a beat, Hilton replied “You’re my best judge forever” … Testimony concluded Friday but Moreno did not immediately issue a ruling. If he finds Hilton breached her contract, a separate proceeding could be held to determine any damages. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Michael Goldberg, a court-appointed receiver for a now-defunct entertainment company that was the major investor in “Pledge This!” The company, Worldwide Entertainment Group, was shut down as a $300 million Ponzi scheme by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Goldberg is attempting to recoup losses for some 3,300 investors. Goldberg said Friday he put up the final $600,000 from his receivership account to complete the movie in hopes that Hilton’s promotion prowess would enable it to turn a profit. He said her unwillingness to do events after the premiere was the reason it lost money. “I said, ‘Just do one little thing and you’ll never hear from me again,’” Goldberg told Moreno. “We had no support whatsoever.”

LMAO!! Leave it to Paris Hilton to turn a courtroom into a circus. She may be a horribly irritating virus plaguing our innocent planet but, apparently, she is an entertaining virus who seems to have charmed the robe (as it were) off her ruling judge. At first I thought she was flirting with the court as she made her way into the courthouse but it turns out that what looked like a wink was actually nothing more than a wonk. In any event, the case now lies in District Judge Federico Moreno’s hands … will he rule in Paris’s favor and let her off scott free or will he determine that the Pledge This! investors’ claim is valid and hold her accountable? I imagine we will find out early next week. Who do YOU think will win this case?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Paris Hilton, who has been spending some time in Dubai in the past few weeks filming a Middle Eastern version of her competitive reality TV series My New BFF, made her way to Miami, FL yesterday to defend her good name (well, what’s left of it) in open court. Paris has been sued by the financial investors who made her film Pledge This! who claim that she did not fulfill the parameters of her contract with them to promote the film. They want $8 million from her (the movie only cost $7.5 million to make). Here is a photo of Paris making her way into court yesterday and a court sketch of the heiress inside the courtroom. Later on today, Hilton will take the stand in her own defense:

It’s Paris Hilton’s turn to tell her side of the story in a lawsuit claiming she didn’t do enough to promote her 2006 sorority movie “Pledge This!” The 28-year-old heiress is scheduled to take the stand in her own defense Friday in a federal courtroom in Miami. The lawsuit brought by movie investors seeks more than $8 million. They claim Hilton reneged on a contract to promote the film, including its DVD release. They say she refused interviews and other promotional opportunities. Hilton contends she plugged the movie extensively and met the contract’s requirements. She says the producers made unreasonable demands for appearances when her schedule was full. The movie cost $7.5 million to make but earned only about $2.9 million.

On the one hand, I’d argue that a horrible film like Pledge This! was doomed for failure from the get go … but the investors do have a point. If Paris had used her annoying omnipresent celebrity to pimp out the film, it might’ve been more of a success. To be honest, I don’t even recall when the movie was made or released. If Paris had done her job, more people would’ve known about the movie and been able to make the conscious effort to not see the film for themselves … rather than not see the film cuz they never even heard of it. In any event, cases like these usually don’t take long for a ruling to be handed down. We should know very soon if Paris will be held liable for not upholding her end of her contractual agreement.

[Photo credit: INFdaily; Source]

So … we all prolly know by now that Chris Brown managed to work out a plea bargain in court yesterday that resulted in his conviction on felony assault against his ex-girlfriend Rihanna (who was also in court yesterday, apparently ready to tell her side of the story to the court). His punishment? 5 years probation and 180 days of “hard labor” cleaning up the streets of his home State of Virginia. I understand that this is a typical sentence for first time offenders of assault … which kinda sickens me. The court system is basically saying that you can assault a person of your choosing and only face probation and street cleaning as punishment. But I digress. Here are photos of both Chris Brown and Rihanna in court yesterday and a full rundown of the day’s events:

With Rihanna set to break her silence in her assault case, Chris Brown reached a plea agreement that spared him jail time, it was announced Monday. Brown, 20, will be sentenced to five years probation and 180 days of community labor to be served in Virginia. He will also complete a year of domestic violence classes, and pay fines. In exchange, he pleaded guilty to felony assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury. “Mr. Brown, I think it’s commendable that you took responsibility for your conduct,” said Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg. Brown also was ordered to stay at least 50 yards away from Rihanna – except at industry events, when it’s 10 yards – despite a request from Rihanna’s lawyer for a less-restrictive order. For now, Brown was also ordered not to have any contact with her, which includes by phone, email or text. “He’s very thankful to all the people who’ve been very supportive,” said Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos. “This is a kid who’s never been in trouble before, who wants to move past this and make sure that the message gets out that these kinds of things, of domestic violence, are not acceptable. And that he has accepted responsibility and continues to do so and embraces this as an opportunity for him to get his life back on track and his career back on track.” If he violates probation, Brown will face four years in prison. His formal sentencing is set for Aug. 5, when the court will drop a second charge of making criminal threats. Noting that Brown pleaded to a felony, Schnegg said, “I want Mr. Brown to be treated the same as any other defendant who would come into this court. That means something like Caltrans [trash pickup] or graffiti removal.” Brown had been charged with two felony counts – assault and making criminal threats – in the alleged fight that left Rihanna bruised and bloodied. The plea deal was reached shortly before Rihanna, 21, was to testify under subpoena in a preliminary hearing. Brown, wearing gray suit, off-white tie, and matching handkerchief in his front pocket, entered the courtroom shortly after 1:30 p.m. About 10 of his friends and family, including his mother, were seated in the audience.

After the judge addressed him, Brown left the courtroom and Rihanna, wearing a black dress and pearls, was brought in for the judge to explain the plea deal terms to the singer. The two were never in the courtroom at the same time. She stood before Judge Schnegg who told her that the court will consider reducing the stay-away order to the least-restrictive one after he’s sentenced. Rihanna’s only words in open court were: “Thank you, your honor,” before she was led out a special exit. According to a search warrant, Rihanna was assaulted during an argument that began when she read text messages from another woman on Brown’s phone as they driving in a Lamborghini in L.A. the morning before the pair were both scheduled to perform on the Grammy Awards. An enraged Brown allegedly tried to force her out of the car, hit her head against the passenger window, punched in her left eye and drove away while steering with one hand and continuing to punch her with the other, says the detective’s notes in the search warrant. As blood filled Rihanna’s mouth, Brown allegedly told her, “I’m going to beat the shit out of you when we get home. You wait and see!” Rihanna then pretended to call her assistant and left a fake message saying, “I am on my way home. Make sure the cops are there when I get there.” The police notes say that prompted Brown to reply: “You just did the stupidest thing ever. Now I’m really going to kill you.”

I guess I’m kinda disgusted that the ruling judge commended Chris Brown for “taking responsibility” for his actions. If he had truly taken responsibility, he would’ve turned himself into cops months ago, admitted his crimes and served a real punishment for assault. What really happened was that his hot shot lawyer managed to work out a deal where Brown only got a slap on the wrists for his felonious actions. I suppose at this point we are to hope that Brown has learned his lesson and will stay out of trubs for the rest of his life. Should he violate his probation in any way in the next 5 years, I believe he will be slapped with a more substantial punishment. In the end, I suppose we should be glad that all of this drama is over. My hope is that Rihanna can move forward from all of this in a healthy manner. Let’s not forget, she is the victim in all of this … whether she chooses to believe it or not.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]