Lawyer wins court order to remove explicit photo from court file
A California lawyer fighting a lawsuit claiming he made unwanted sexual advances has obtained a court order to remove a photo of his penis from the court file.
Riverside lawyer Dwayne Beck and his law firm “strenuously deny the merits” of the plaintiff’s case, but did admit the photo was real, the Smoking Gun reports. The OC Weekly was the first to report on the Beck’s effort to seal the photo, allegedly sent to the plaintiff via a text message.
The plaintiff, who filed the Orange County suit as Jane Doe, is a translator for a legal service. She alleges in the March 13 suit that Beck, 51, propositioned her, rubbed against her, blocked her from exiting a room while he had an erection, and e-mailed her the photo. Beck’s lawyers contended in a court filing that the woman included the picture because she hoped to use “media exposure as a litigation tool.”
Beck and his law firm “regard plaintiff’s lawsuit as an effort to harass, humiliate, and embarrass defendants by dragging their names through the courts and in the media with salacious accusations in order to extort a monetary settlement despite the hollowness of plaintiff’s claims,” according to a legal memorandum filed with the court.
Judge James Di Cesare granted Beck’s request to seal the photo, but denied requests to seal the entire file or to force the plaintiff to reveal her name. She is seeking damages for alleged sexual battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Beck did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
