Paparazzo's Lawsuit Against Pink over Malibu Dust-Up Moves Forward

A lawsuit filed against singer Pink and her husband by a paparazzo, who alleges he was battered by a friend of the couple t the Malibu Country Mart., can move forward, a judge said today.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elia Weinbach adopted as final a tentative ruling he issued Wednesday in favor of plaintiff Boris Issaei. Lawyers on both sides agreed today to accept the decision without a hearing.

Attorneys for the entertainer and her spouse, 38-year-old motocross racer Carey Hart, sought dismissal of the suit, maintaining that neither assaulted nor battered Issaei during a June 13, 2013, run-in in Malibu, because words alone do not amount to a physical attack.

In the complaint filed Nov. 25, Issaei said he was photographing the couple as they changed their daughter Willow's diaper. He alleges the couple's acquaintance, Nader Heydari, kicked the Issaei in a shin and stomped on his feet.

The lawsuit alleges Hart acted as a lookout, a fact noted in Weinbach's ruling.

"While Hart kept a close eye out for any witnesses, Heydari kicked the plaintiff on his shin and repeatedly stomped on his feet," Weinbach wrote. "When (Issaei) tried to explain to Pink that he was not trying to take pictures of the baby naked and she should stop (the others) from hurting him, she refused to listen to him and used words like, "You deserve it."

Pink and Hart were not uninvolved bystanders, according to the judge.

"(Issaei) thus alleges, at a minimum, that (Pink and Hart) kept an eye out for witnesses, used encouraging language during the course of the attack and actively blocked him from leaving during the course of the attack," Weinbach wrote.

The 34-year-old Pink's real name is Alecia Beth Moore.

--City News Service