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Real Housewife Gretchen Rossi Punked by So-Called Ex

Judge throws out the meat of the Real Housewife's defamation suit against self-proclaimed ex Jay Photoglou, who is also suing her

By Natalie Finn, Marcus Mulick Oct 22, 2010 12:12 AMTags
Gretchen RossiDavid Goldman/Bravo

This whole finger-pointing thing is not going Gretchen Rossi's way.

The Real Housewives of Orange County blonde lost a few of the legal legs she was standing on Thursday when a judge dismissed the meat of her defamation lawsuit against self-proclaimed ex-boyfriend Jay Photoglou.

For starters, the defamation part is out.

"Yes!" Photoglou exclaimed as he left the courtroom and gave his attorney a hug. (No official comment was forthcoming, however.)

The judge struck down Rossi's claims of defamation, libel and portrayal in a false light after determining that her camp hadn't offered up enough evidence to prove Photoglou was lying about the two of them being in a romantic relationship while she was engaged to Jeff Beitzel, who died of cancer in 2008.

Rossi has already paid nearly $24,000 in legal fees for Photoglou, who sued her for defamation in January after her failed attempt to get a restraining order against him. (Her reason: She claims Photoglou threatened to kill her and boyfriend Slade Smiley.)

She's still allowed to pursue prior claims of assault, battery, stalking, breach of contract, conversion, intentional emotional distress, intentional interference with contractual relations and intentional interference with prospective economic relations for the time being.

"While we respect the Judges of the Orange County Superior Court, we believe that there are appropriate grounds for Appeal, and whether we pursue that avenue will depend upon a variety of factors," Rossi's attorney, Gregory G. Brown, said in a statement to E! News.

"We believe it is important to note that much of Ms. Rossi's complaint went unchallenged," he continued. "These eight primary claims will continue to be pursued aggressively.

"While we ordinarily do not discuss the details of ongoing litigation, we feel compelled to provide this complete picture of the current status of the case given Mr. Photoglou's ongoing internet and media communications which, to date, have been less than complete."