Dec 8, 2006 11:19 am US/Eastern
Judge To Review 'Borat' Fraternity Suit
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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British actor Sacha Baron Cohen
Getty Images for MTV
A judge weighing whether to halt the DVD release of "Borat" viewed a scene from the hit film in which a group of South Carolina fraternity brothers converse with the raucous Kazakh journalist played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Biderman, after reviewing the scene Thursday, said he would review the case but did not indicate when he might issue a ruling.
Two fraternity members filed a lawsuit Nov. 9, alleging they were tricked into making racist and sexist remarks in the spoof documentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."
The men, who were not named in the lawsuit, alleged the film's producers took them to a bar and, after a bout of heavy drinking, they signed release forms agreeing to appear in what they were told would be a documentary shown outside the United States.
The lawsuit claimed the film brought them "ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community."
Attorney Olivier Taillieu, who represents the fraternity brothers, said the DVD should not be released because "further dissemination of the film is going to cause some injury to my clients."
He said one of the plaintiffs was forced to resign from his prominent position at the University of South Carolina chapter of Chi Psi. Along with barring the DVD release, the plaintiffs were seeking unspecified monetary damages.
An attorney representing 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., questioned the plaintiffs' claim they were too drunk to understand the release forms.
"We're confident that we're going to prevail," attorney Louis Petrich said following court. "We don't think the lawsuit has any merit. We don't even agree with them on the facts."
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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