'Queen of Versailles' Filmmaker Wins Key Ruling in Defamation Fight - David Siegel CEO Westgate Resorts

In staying a lawsuit, the judge finds testimony from David Siegel, the subject of the praised documentary, to be "inconsistent and incredible and thus lacking weight."

After spending two years making the lauded documentary Queen of Versailles, and then another year defending a lawsuit brought by the film's main subject, Lauren Greenfield scored a big legal victory in Florida federal court on Thursday.

The film was a smash hit at Sundance last year, snapped up by Magnolia Films and the Bravo cable network and later nominated by the Director's Guild for outstanding directorial achievement. It tells the story of David Siegel, a time-share baron who commissioned a $75 million Florida mansion for himself before the economy went south. Siegel wasn't particularly happy with the documentary described as a "rags-to-riches-to-rags story," seemingly based on his own words, and sued, claiming that Greenfield had hurt the reputation of his Westgate Resorts business.

Last month, U.S. District Court judge Anne Conway presided over an evidentiary hearing to decide the issue of whether Greenfield attained a proper release from the subjects. If so, the release stipulated that disputes would be handled by an arbitrator. The result of the testimony delivered yesterday amounts to a clear victory for Greenfield with the judge expressing disbelief over Siegel's position, deemed by the judge to be "quite bizarre."

Siegel's position on whether the case should be stayed pending arbitration was that the release form wasn't valid.

According to his side's legal briefs, the release was signed by Richard Siegel, his son, who was an important figure in the film and showed Greenfield around the sales and marketing operation of Westgate. The plaintiff argued that his son was just one of dozens who held the title of "vice president," and that he didn't work for Westgate Resorts, but rather the legally distinct Westgate Marketing.

Read the full ruling here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/122157512/Westgate-ruling


Additionally, the plaintiff claimed that after Richard signed the release, Greenfield had written "Westgate Resorts" besides the citation of "Company."

Greenfield countered that it was a "flat out lie" that David Siegel didn't authorize the filming or the signing of arbitration clauses in the two years he spent cooperating with her.

Judge Conway has scored this one for Greenfield. She says that the issue turns on whether Richard acted as Westage Resort's agent for the purposes of filming those scenes where the time-share business is shown going through major troubles. She rules he had.

"Upon observing David Siegel's demeanor and listening to the substance of his testimony, the Court finds David Siegel's testimony to be inconsistent and incredible and thus lacking weight," writes the judge in her ruling.

The judge continues, "Considering David Siegel described his management style as dictatorial and one ruled with an iron fist, it seems quite bizarre that for two years, without David Siegel's knowledge, the Defendants would visit Westgate Resorts' locations and would film meetings with directors, vice-presidents, and customers and interview his son Richard, who had an accompanying office in Orlando."

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