Singer and actress Jessica Simpson has won an arbitration to keep an exercise video featuring her from being marketed, a court filing shows.
Lawyers for Simpson asked a New York state court on Friday to approve the April arbitration ruling that bars Speedfit LLC and its owner, Alex Astilean, from using her name and likeness to promote the 2005 video.
While the arbitrator awarded Simpson nothing on her breach of contract claim, it awarded $357,587 to cover fees and costs, and ordered Astilean to pay Simpson's business manager, David Levin, $50,000 on a slander claim, the court filing shows.
Simpson and her business management company, With You Inc, had accused Speedfit of failing to deliver a video fit for sale, despite having one year for editing.
Astilean said in an interview that he planned to challenge the arbitrator's ruling. He said he had countersued Simpson for $10 million.
"I worked for one year to edit a very good video," and now "my video is nowhere," Astilean said. "We lost the house, we lost everything. We don't know how we're going to survive."
The video was made in the same month that Simpson appeared as Daisy Duke in the movie "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Astilean said he has hired a lawyer, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment. A lawyer for Simpson also did not immediately return a call.
Speedfit is based in East Hampton, New York, according to its website.