Saturday, Jun 28, 2008    Text size: 

U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez wrote that Troyer's motion "demonstrated that he will suffer irreparable harm to his reputation" if the tape is distributed.

Tabloid website TMZ, which had posted a 25-second clip of the video, removed it Friday evening after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order requested by Troyer's attorneys. Another post describing the actor's lawsuit remained active.

Gutierrez' ruling also prevents any distributor from taking orders for the full 50-minute video, and keeps TMZ from broadcasting any more clips. Troyer's lawsuit also seeks $20 million in damages and the return of all copies of the tape. The judge also indicated he may issue a more binding preliminary injunction in the case unless TMZ and other parties demonstrate why it should be released. His temporary order expires July 7.

Troyer's attorney said she, Troyer and others are "very pleased" by Gutierrez's ruling.

Troyer has claimed that the sex tape, which he made with a former girlfriend, was never intended to become public and was stolen from his home some months ago.

The statement by online adult rental site SugarDVD that it hoped to reach a deal with Troyer to distribute the full, 50-minute version was also removed by late Friday afternoon.

Producer Kevin Blatt is also named as a defendant. On Friday, Blatt told reporters that he had not been served with the lawsuit yet, but called it "baseless."

Blatt said he never had the tape and only helped try to broker a deal.