LOS ANGELES — LFP attorneys have asked a judge to deny Flynt Media Corp.’s motion to include Jimmy Flynt Sr. as a material witness when the trial begins next week.
LFP attorneys say that by adding Jimmy Flynt Sr. to the defense’s witness list would be duplicative of testimony made in an October deposition and would constitute an undue consumption of time.
“On the eve of trial, defendants are moving to include a witness that is purported to offer ‘substantive’ testimony on the issues in this case,” LFP attorneys said in a motion last week.
“However, since the defendants failed to list Jimmy Flynt Sr. in [court rules] disclosures, plaintiffs still do not know the scope or purpose of this testimony.
“Simply put, defendants are unjustifiably late in identifying Jimmy Flynt Sr. as a witness for the defendants’ case-in-chief.”
LFP attorneys further claim that none of Jimmy Flynt Jr.’s anticipated testimony is relevant to the case.
“Plaintiffs acknowledge that he was a long-time employee of LFP and its related companies, and that he developed one marketing slogan utilized by the Hustler Hollywood chain of adult retail stores (the “Relax … It’s Just Sex” slogan),” LFP attorneys said.
“This anticipated testimony is not remotely relevant to the central issues in this trial — trademark infringement, unfair competition and a violation of Larry Flynt’s right of privacy/publicity.”
Larry Flynt and LFP Inc. are suing Jimmy II and Dustin Flynt over the use of Flynt Media Corp. name, claiming it is too similar to their own and that it is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace. LFP already has won a preliminary injunction against Flynt Media Corp.
So far, the judge in the case has made several key pretrial decisions, but he has not yet decided on Jimmy Flynt Sr. testifying at trial.
U.S. Judge Howard Matz last week ruled to preclude some testimony in the trial from Mark Mauceri, Bruce Isaacson and Paul Fishbein.
Matz also granted preclusion of references to insurance and past criminal history, as well as specific orders in the injunction against Flynt Media Corp.
The trial is slated for Dec. 8 and is expected to last five days, with each side limited to 10 hours of direct testimony.