New York- Only the gloves have come off – so far – in a legal catfight between hard-driving New York publisher Judith Regan and one of her best-selling authors, porn star Jenna Jameson.
Jameson wants a federal court judge to block Regan’s claim to a financial stake in a reality TV show that the actress says she negotiated on her own with the A&E cable network.
In a countersuit, Regan insists that an agreement with Jameson signed last April gave Regan Media the “exclusive right” to negotiate with TV networks on any project involving the self-described “screen performer.”
The complaints will be heard in Phoenix Federal Court, near Jameson’s home, as Regan prepares to move her ReganBooks imprint to Hollywood, in hopes of building a bigger TV and movie operation.
Jameson, whose real name is Jenna Massoli, wrote the memoir “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale,” which ReganBooks published last summer.
Jameson says in court papers that her husband, John Grdina, negotiated for months with A&E – before last April – to do a reality series based on her “everyday life.”
Along the way, her complaint adds, Grdina told Regan of their discussions with A&E, “clearly identifying the project as one which they were pursuing on their own.”
Jameson says her TV agreement with Regan covered the publisher’s pitch of a Jameson project to the Fox network but was unrelated to talks with A&E.
“Jenna’s lawsuit is frivolous,” Regan told the Daily News through a spokesman yesterday. “We are suing her because she violated her contract.”
Regan, who alleges breach of contract and wants any A&E deal covered by their agreement, also seeks damages to be determined at trial.
A copy of their agreement says it covers two potential TV ventures – a one-hour special based on Jameson’s memoir and a reality-based show – “and any similar projects.”
Meanwhile, Regan’s move to L.A. was said to be part of a new contract she has with HarperCollins Publishers, of which ReganBooks is a part.
ReganBooks has had Jose Canseco’s “Juiced” and three books about the Scott Peterson case on The New York Times best-seller list. Its upcoming titles include “The Gotti Diet,” by ex-heavyweight Frank Gotti Agnello, a son of Victoria Gotti.