Judge: No legal emergency in Octomom strip case
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An effort to cancel a Florida strip-club performance by the woman known as "Octomom" has been denied by a Florida judge.
Circuit Judge Timothy McCarthy has ruled against holding an emergency hearing requested by T's Lounge in West Palm Beach, saying the situation does not "constitute a legal emergency."
T's Lounge was trying to thwart Nadya Suleman's scheduled appearance Friday at a competing club. She had signed a contract to dance topless at T's this week but later backed out in favor of The Playhouse Gentleman's Club in Hollywood.
That show can go on, though a lawsuit against her filed by T's will likely proceed.
T's says Suleman backed out of a contract for eight shows set to begin Wednesday, her 37th birthday. Under the contract, she could back out with 35 days' notice; T's says she gave 34. It also barred Suleman from appearing at another strip club within 50 miles and 90 days of her engagements in West Palm Beach.
T's is seeking damages in excess of $15,000, saying she caused "irreparable harm."
Phone and email messages left for Gina Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Suleman, were not returned Wednesday.
Suleman, who lives in La Habra, Calif., is the mother of 14 children, including octuplets born in 2009. She has struggled financially, recently declaring bankruptcy.
Suleman has sold photos of herself and her children to tabloids, including a spread of topless photos to a British magazine. She has also agreed to answer pay-per-minute phone calls along with other D-list celebrities and reality television personalities.
___
Follow Matt Sedensky on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sedensky
