Defendants Dismissed In Audience Of One vs TNA Impact Ventures Trial

There are two less defendants in the Audience of One vs TNA lawsuit.

According to PWInsider, Aroluxe LLC and Ronald Dean Harris have been dismissed as defendants in the lawsuit by former TNA production company Audience of One Productions against TNA parent company Impact Ventures and TNA Chief Financial Officer Dean Broadhead. The suit was filed in a Virginia court on February 6.

Audience of One requested this dismissal after a hearing on February 3, in which Harris and a representative from Aroluxe argue that under Virginia law, Audience of One had not given proper evidence about a conspiracy. They argued that it wasn't right to “allow a plaintiff to establish jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant by simply pleading bare allegations of a business conspiracy. This is not the law.” Harris claimed he was not part of the agreement between TNA and AoO and is a resident of Tennessee, therefore not subject to the Virginia case. Aroluxe's representative argued that they didn't do regular business in the state, so Virginia had no jurisdiction.

Harris and Aroluxe requested the lawsuit be dismissed entirely, a request which was denied when they were removed as defendants. They could still have legal brought against them in the future. Impact Ventures and Broadhead are now the only defendants.

The lawsuit claims that Broadhead and Impact Ventures lied to Audience of One saying that they wanted to use them as a production company, only to refuse to pay in a timely manner. A payment plan was set-up, but the lawsuit alleges that TNA then stopped paying altogether after the first installment was paid. Audience of One is suing for $223,000 plus interest as well as post-judgment costs, for breach of contract and violating Virgina code. There will be a settlement conference on April 5 to try to reach an agreement before the case goes to trial.