CBS seeks dismissal of lawsuit filed by former teen prostitute

Attorneys for CBS have filed an emergency motion asking for the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against it last year by a former teen prostitute from Henderson.

According to U.S. District Court records, the teen filed a lawsuit against the television network and Metro Police claiming that despite promises to the contrary, CBS failed to protect her identity in a news magazine segment on teen prostitutes that aired in December 1997 and July 1998. The July segment even identified her as a Green Valley High School student, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claimed that the girl "has been humiliated, embarrassed and subjected to rumors, innuendo, statements, remarks, obscenities and other such trauma," as a result of the TV show "48 Hours."

In his motion to dismiss, CBS attorney David J. Bodney of Phoenix wrote that the teen and her mother, who are referred to as Jane Roe and Jane Roe Sr. in the lawsuit, failed to show up last week for their depositions and don't appear interested in rescheduling.

Moreover, their attorneys have repeatedly failed to provide him with information that has been gathered since the lawsuit was filed in December 1998, Bodney wrote.

"After months of CBS' efforts to move forward with discovery, the plaintiffs have failed to participate in any meaningful way and have now openly flouted their obligation to appear for depositions," Bodney wrote.

Las Vegas attorney Robert Murdock, who represents the pair, said the missed appointment was the result of a miscommunication between the mother and her daughter and it will be rescheduled. The mother mistakenly thought the 17-year-old girl had run away.

As for the information-sharing, Murdock said he hasn't received key information from CBS, either.

"Those in Arizona glass houses should not throw stones," Murdock said.

Murdock described Bodney's motion as "nothing special."

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