L.A. judge: Fairplay must amend suit over Bonaduce altercation
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reality TV figure Jonny Fairplay will have to provide a court with more details about his tooth-busting dust-up with Danny Bonaduce before his lawsuit against producers of an awards show can go forward. “I think more facts should be set forth,” Superior Court Judge Michael C. Solner ruled Tuesday.
Solner gave Fairplay, whose real name is Jon Dalton, 20 days to amend his complaint to explain why the producers of Fox Reality Channel’s “Really Awards” were negligent and involved in the alleged battery. The lawsuit stems from an October 2007 altercation in which Fairplay, a competitor on Survivor: Pearl Islands, jumped into Bonaduce’s arms on stage during the awards show to give him a hug.
Bonaduce, 48, responded by tossing Fairplay over his shoulders. Fairplay landed face first, losing one tooth, breaking another and loosening two more.
Fairplay, 34, sued Bonaduce, Fox Reality Channel and the show producers for battery, negligence and emotional distress. He claims the producers encouraged Bonaduce to go on stage uninvited, did not provide security and failed to provide prompt medical care afterward. Vicki Greco, an attorney for Fox and Natural 9 Entertainment, the producers, said Bonaduce’s actions were unplanned and the companies were not responsible for the incident.
Fairplay’s lawyer, Daniel C. Lapidus, claimed Bonaduce told the producers “what he wanted to do and they told him to do it.” Bonaduce, a child actor on The Partridge Family, starred in the 2005 reality show Breaking Bonaduce.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 12.