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Kevin Hart’s Company Demands Comedian’s Ex-Friend’s $12 Million Lawsuit Be Moved Out of Public Eye
Kevin Hart’s company pleaded with a judge to not allow the comedian’s former friend Jonathan T. Jackson’s lawsuit to be fought in public, In Touch has exclusively learned.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Hartbeat LLC, Kevin’s entertainment company, argued that Jonathan’s case needed to be moved out of Los Angeles Superior Court and into arbitration.
The move would mean Kevin, 45, and Jonathan’s back and forth in court would be heard by a private judge. All of the proceedings would be sealed and none of the filings in the case would be released to the public.
Hartbeat said Jonathan entered into an agreement with Kevin and his company in July 2021. Kevin’s company said the deal had a provision that stated all disputes would be heard in arbitration.
A lawyer for the company argued, “Each of [Jonathan’s] claims against Hartbeat (the first, second, third, and fifth) relate to whether [Kevin and his company] breached the contract, whether [Jonathan] was fraudulently induced to enter the contract (which Jackson maintains is valid and enforceable), whether [Hart and his company’s] breach of the contract inflicted emotional distress on [Jonathan], and whether [Jonathan] can even bring a defamation claim, which would have been released as part of [Jonathan’s] obligations under the contract.”
Jonathan has yet to respond.
As In Touch previously reported, in his lawsuit filed earlier this year, Jonathan accused Kevin of breach of written contract, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Jonathan said he had a “notable career” in Hollywood before his reputation was “unjustly tarnished due to a series of malicious actions by the defendants, leading to profound emotional distress, financial losses, and professional setbacks.”
In the suit, Jonathan noted Kevin was involved in a highly publicized sex tape scandal in 2017.
The video featured the comedian with a woman who was not his wife.
Following the scandal, Jonathan said he was blamed for the video being filmed and had false extortion claims filed against him.
“Although Hart did not personally accuse [Jonathan] at this stage, he contributed to the initiation of these false claims,” the lawsuit said.
Jonathan also claimed the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office conducted a raid initiated from an extortion report “falsely reported” by Kevin and his team.
To make matters worse, Jonathan said Kevin then slammed him in a 2019 stand-up special.
The parties agreed to resolve their issues in 2021 with a settlement. Jonathan claimed that Kevin agreed to make a public statement after Jonathan’s criminal case was dismissed.
The alleged deal said Jonathan and Kevin were prohibited from speaking about the Vegas trip, where the sex tape was filmed.
The alleged deal read, “Jackson agrees not to discuss or disclose details of the Trip or any other personal details regarding KH or HartBeat to anyone including but not limited to a public audience/media, print media, social media or the like in any form now known or created in the future.”
However, despite the deal, Jonathan said Kevin did not make the agreed-upon statement after the charges were dismissed.
The suit claimed Kevin “blatantly breached the contract by failing to issue the agreed-upon public statement exonerating [Jonathan], causing significant harm and irreparable damage.”
Jonathan’s lawsuit seeks more than $12 million in damages.
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