The company responsible for the "Girls Gone Wild" video series has filed for bankruptcy, according to reports. The company, GGW Brands LLC has been through several court disputes and said it wants to restructure its business.
GGW Brands lists over $16 million in disputed claims in its Chapter 11 court filing, which does not include a $19 million judgment won by Wynn Resorts Limited founder Steve Wynn from a slander case against GGW Brand's founder Joe Francis. The case is being appealed.
Wynn is seeking $10.3 million from Francis. The judgment entered against Francis amounts to gambling debts as well as additional damages for statements Francis made about the casino and Wynn.
Francis became wealthy by marketing and selling "Girls Gone Wild" videos of women flashing their breasts. His subsidiaries GGW Magazine and GGW Events have filed for bankruptcy as well and all judgment collection efforts have been stopped.
As reported by the Associated Press, an additional claim comes from a woman named Tamara Favazza of St. Louis who last year won a judgment of almost $5.8 million against Francis. Favazza was featured in a "Girls Gone Wild" DVD without her knowledge. Favazza alleges that while at a bar an incident occurred where someone lifted her top. She was a 20-year-old college student at the time and sued as soon as she became aware of her likeness on the DVD. Francis and his production company Mantra Films are taking the case to federal court in an attempt to have the judgment overturned.
"The company Girls Gone Wild remains strong as a company and strong financially. The only reason Girls Gone Wild has elected to file for this reorganization is to restructure its frivolous and burdensome legal affairs," said the company in a statement released Thursday. Although the Girls Gone Wild brand is known for production and distribution of soft porn, it compares itself to big corporations like American Airlines and General Motors.
