HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — A judge ruled yesterday that a lawsuit filed last year by cosmetics company Hydroderm against Teri Hatcher should be settled in arbitration and not in a court of law.
Hydroderm accused the 43-year-old "Desperate Housewives" star of breaching a 2005 "exclusive" endorsement deal in which Hatcher reportedly sang the praises of a rival cosmetics company. The $2.8 million suit alleged Hatcher even posed for pictures applying CityLips pout plumper, which is a direct competitor to Hydroderm's Volumizing Lip Serum.
"Hatcher's name, image and likeness have been linked to so many competitors' products," the lawsuit said, "that it is anyone's guess as to what product keeps her skin and lips youthful."
Alan Wertheimer, Hatcher's attorney, dismissed the claims, calling the lawsuit an "unjustified and public assault on Teri Hatcher's good name, reputation and celebrity." He said that Hatcher's deal with Hydroderm did not affect her prior endorsement agreement with CityLips.
At yesterday's hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Helen I. Bendix ruled that both sides are bound by a prior agreement to arbitrate all of Hydroderm's claims, rather than litigation in court.
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