Durst is seeking $80 million and a temporary restraining order against the companies, which were purportedly selling access to the “very private, intimate bedroom video,” which was filmed during 2003.
“This video was never intended […] to be shown, marketed, sold or distributed to the public,” states the temporary restraining order application, filed in Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday, which calls for the distribution of the video to be stopped before it is broadcast in its entirety and picked up by secondary distributors.
The lawsuit also accuses Gawker Media and the other companies of infringing on Durst’s copyright, since he was the author of the work. Durst also registered the video with the Register of Copyrights on Feb. 28.
According to the documents, Durst’s manager, Peter Katsis, was approached in December by the representative of an unnamed adult video company that claimed they had a video of Durst having sex with a woman. The individual inquired about whether Durst would be willing to market the video and share the profits.
The lawsuit was filed after letters to the defendants asking them to remove the video went unheeded, according to Durst’s attorneys.
Documents also reveal that the U.S. Secret Service is investigating the theft of the video, originally thought to have been purloined by the same hacker who broke into Paris Hilton’s cellphone, but is now believed to possibly have been someone who did technical work on Durst’s home computer.
Representatives from Gawker were not available for comment at deadline.
The case is Durst vs. Gawker Media, et al., No. CV051575.
