Dita Von Teese, dominatrix settle law suit

Burlesque queen Dita Von Teese and Los Angeles-based dominatrix Cynthia Butler have settled a lawsuit that gives Von Teese the rights to a 2001 fetish film she starred in called "Slick City."

Von Teese, whose real name is Heather Sweet, claimed Butler stole her half of the rights to the film and cash. She filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 8 and her allegations included fraud and intentional misrepresentation.

According to a stipulated judgment filed by Butler's lawyer on Wednesday, "all rights and inventory, including masters of the film `Slick City,"' will be returned to Von Teese.

Butler's attorney, C. Curtis Edmondson, was not immediately available for comment.

Keith A. Fink, one of Von Teese's lawyers, said he and his client are happy with the resolution.

"It didn't take Solomonic wisdom ... to realize they better give back to Dita all her intellectual property rights to "Slick City," Fink said. "Just as we stated in our complaint, Dita always owned the rights to `Slick City' and any claim she relinquished her rights was false."

The resolution is "a victory for Dita as it achieved precisely what we sought -- Dita again has ownership in the `Slick City' intellectual property and she got back the masters of the movie all all the `Slick City' inventory," Fink said.

According to her lawsuit, Von Teese, who also works as a model, agreed to share profits and split the rights to her film with "Slick City" producer Bob Zahurak.

After Zahurak died, his widow and other business affiliates of distributor GwenMedia Inc.

assured Von Teese that she would have full ownership of the film, her court papers said.

Von Teese claimed that Butler, who has also starred in various fetish films under the name Isabella Sinclaire, told her that she would be taking Zahurak's estate and GwenMedia to court in an effort to recover past-due royalties from her films.

But unknown to Von Teese, Butler sought and won the rights to GwenMedia's entire film library, including "Slick City," and intentionally failed to inform the court that Von Teese is the true owner of the title, according to her lawsuit. Under the settlement, any royalty claims Von Teese maintains she has regarding "Slick City" will be made against Zahurak's estate and not Butler.

Von Teese, 35, was married to shock rocker Marilyn Manson from 2005-07.

The settlement is Von Teese's latest victory in court, Fink said. In separate lawsuits, she recently received $25,000 from Erotica Limited owed her for performances in London and also won the return of a giant glass swan prop she uses in her shows.