PANAMA CITY, Fla. — The multimillionaire founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” videos avoided going to jail for yelling obscenities at attorneys representing underaged girls filmed by his production company.

A federal judge found Joe Francis in contempt of court after lawyers for seven women complained he used profanities and screamed at them during civil suit settlement negotiations. The women were filmed on Panama City Beach during spring break in 2003.

U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak had ordered Francis arrested at 5 p.m. Friday if he did not reach a settlement in the case. But Francis and his attorneys left a Panama City office after 5:30 p.m. Friday and said Smoak had agreed that the parties were making progress in their negotiations and that he would stay his order indefinitely.

An attorney for one of the women had testified that Francis threatened to “bury” the lawyers and their clients.

Francis was ordered earlier this year to pay fines and serve community service in both Florida and California because his companies violated federal laws designed to prevent the sexual exploitation of minors and improperly labeled videos.