WWW - Penthouse Media Group Inc. must face former chairman Robert Guccione's lawsuit challenging his dismissal, a judge has ruled.
Guccione sued Penthouse Media Group and its principals, Marc Bell and Daniel Staton, claiming breach of contract for not keeping him on as a $500,000-a-year consultant after they brought the company out of bankruptcy in 2004, when it was known as General Media International Inc.
Bell and Staton offered to give Guccione the post for 10 years in exchange for his conveying ownership of Penthouse trademarks and not filing a claim for severance, according to the complaint Guccione filed in 2005. Shortly after GMI emerged from bankruptcy, Guccione was fired for not giving up his rights to U.K. trademarks.
