Michael Bay gets apology, dismissal of battery lawsuit

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Michael Bay gets apology, dismissal of battery lawsuit

Tue Oct 05, 2010 @ 04:48PM PST

By Matthew Belloni

Bay,michael A Ventura County lawyer has learned that you do NOT screw around with Michael Bay.

Six weeks after including the "Transformers" director as a defendant in a pistol-whipping battery lawsuit stemming from a fight at a Hollywood club, attorney Christine Renshaw of Renshaw & Associates has put her tail between her legs, dismissed the case against Bay and issued a written apology to him. Ouch.

"On behalf of our clients and our firm, we sincerely apologize to Michael Bay for his inclusion as a defendant in a lawsuit that was recently filed on behalf of our clients Joshua James Stewart and Paul Klimczak arising from an incident at the Kiss Nightclub," according to the statement given to TMZ.

"Mr. Bay was not at the Kiss Nightclub on the night of the events in question, and he had nothing to do with the alleged incident. We are satisfied that, contrary to the allegations in the lawsuit, the man involved in the altercation and identified as "Doe #1" was not Mr. Bay's employee or private security guard..."

It goes on from there.

Would Bay pursue a malicious prosecution action? He was pretty pissed about the suit when we talked to him in August. But TMZ says he's accepting the apology and has not plans to sue.

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The Hollywood Reporter, Esq. blog focuses on how the entertainment and media industries are impacted and influenced by the law. It is edited by Matthew Belloni with contributions from veteran legal reporter Eriq Gardner and others. Before joining The Hollywood Reporter, Belloni was a lawyer at an entertainment litigation firm in Los Angeles. He writes a column for THR devoted to entertainment law. Gardner is a New York-based writer and legal journalist. Send tips or comments to [email protected]

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