PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A lawyer for the creator of the “Girls Gone Wild” video series says he will seek up to $1 million in reparations from Bay County after an appeal court ruled against the confiscation of a business jet by sheriff’s deputies.

The 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee last week affirmed Circuit Judge Dedee Costello’s ruling last year denying the $2 million jet’s seizure as part of a criminal case against Girls Gone Wild producer Joe Francis.

Francis, 31, of Lake Tahoe, Nev., is facing 43 charges including racketeering and promoting the sexual performance of minors while filming at nearby Panama City Beach during spring break last year. No trial date has been set.

Aaron Dyer, Francis’ Los Angeles lawyer, said he plans to seek $200,000 to $1 million for loss of the 12-seat aircraft’s use. It belongs to Francis’ Delaware-based Aero Falcon LLC.

The jet and a 2002 Ferrari were confiscated in April 2003 after deputies raided a condominium where Francis was staying, also confiscating dozens of videos.

Costello returned the jet to Aero Falcon the next month, ruling there was no proof it had been used to facilitate the crimes Francis is accused of committing.

The state appealed the decision, but a three-judge panel affirmed it Wednesday without comment, making further appeal unlikely, said sheriff’s lawyer Franklin Harrison.

A hearing on the fate of the Ferrari, owned by Francis’ Mantra Films Inc., of Santa Monica, Calif., has not yet been scheduled.