A judge has decided that a pilot named Douglas Gotterba, who previously worked for Travolta for six years in the 1980s, can argue that he has no confidentiality agreement with the actor.
- Jul 24, 2014
AceShowbiz - A judge in California decided on Tuesday, July 22 that a pilot named Douglas Gotterba could continue his case against John Travolta. The judge decided that Gotterba, who previously worked in Travolta's aircraft company Alto from 1981 to 1987, won the right to argue in his lawsuit that he had no confidentiality agreement with the company despite their claim stating otherwise.
The legal drama started in 2012 after Gotterba told The National Enquirer that he planned to write a tell-all book about "his personal and intimate relationship" with the actor. The "Pulp Fiction" actor's attorney Martin Singer tried to block the move, saying that Gotterba had signed a confidentiality agreement. Gotterba, however, claimed that the document was not authentic. Gotterba then sued Travolta and Alto, seeking judicial declaration to see which agreement was valid and whether the confidentiality was enforceable.
Travolta's legal team has released a statement in response to the judge's decision that Gotterba has no confidentiality restrictions. "While we believe that the Court should have thrown out Gotterba's lawsuit at the outset, ultimately he will not prevail on his claim," said Andrew B. Brettler of Lavely & Singer in a statement to The Wrap.
"Gotterba points to an unsigned draft agreement, which he now claims is the controlling document in the case, yet he attached as an exhibit to his own complaint the final version of the contract that he signed barring his claim. We are very confident that in the end we will prevail in the action," he continued.
Gotterba also had a brief comment about the legal issue. When asked if he planned to continue with the case, he told NY Daily News on Wednesday, "Yeah, absolutely. But I can't comment any further."
