Legal Incident
On September 6, 2009 Merriman was arrested and charged with battery and false imprisonment. Merriman's former girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila, claimed in an arrest complaint that he choked and restrained her when she tried to leave his home. The charges were dismissed less than a week later on September 11, 2009.
In December 2009, Merriman filed a civil suit against Tequila, alleging intentional interference with contract, unfair competition, and trademark infringement. He claimed that Tequila improperly used his own "Lights Out" logo and disrupted negotiations for t-shirts to be marketed by Wal-Mart. She failed to respond to the suit at all, and a default judgment was entered in his favor for $2 million. However, the default judgment was later set aside in January, 2010. In February, 2010, both sides jointly moved the court to dismiss the claim, and the court dismissed the case on the same day.
Read more about this topic: Shawne Merriman
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