Here's a copy of Jennifer Rosenblatt's lawsuit against Paul Fishbein and Darren Roberts personally and AVN the corporation

[This suit was settled in late 2005.]

Jennifer's declaration filed Dec. 3, 2004.

According to a report I got from an industry player, Fishbein has been on a rampage to take away the clients of Jennifer Rosenblatt's husband Darren Blatt, the promoter of the Players Ball. Darren does not have anything to do with Jennifer's lawsuit.

Fishbein responded that he did not even know what Darren does for a living, let alone has tried to hurt his business.

This could get ugly.

According to what I know, In 22 years of business, AVN has not been sued before (aside from a small thing ten years ago by somebody who was receiving the magazine and didn't want it).

Several females who've worked at AVN in the past five years have considered the managing editors - first Bryn Pryor and later Mike Ramone (both deeply steeped in the bondage underworld) - to be misogynistic. Bryn had a hot temper. (He is now in a relationship with Kylie Ireland.)

Renee Johnson considered a harassment suit against the former AVN managing editor Bryn Pryor but the matter was handled in house. Bryn had to attend anger management classes. Renee received a company car and a cushy job running the trade shows.

Juliet Lowry was the head of the AVN internet division. She's been heard making similar complaints to Jenn's about AVN, but that is weird because she remains friends with Paul Fishbein.

There are a lot of ex-AVN employees who are rooting for Jennifer.

I expect AVN will have to make a statement about Jennifer's lawsuit. Jenn and AVN publisher Paul Fishbein were platonic friends for years.

I expect that AVN will defend itself from Jenn's lawsuit by arguing that she was fired for just cause. That she wasn't doing a good job. That people were complaining. That employees were threatening to quit. AVN will have to name names and provide specificity to these allegations to be persuasive. Who complained? Who threatened to quit? How was Jenn's work incompetent?

Carol L . Gillam is the attorney for Jennifer. The case number is BC321826. I believe it was filed in the Van Nuys branch of Los Angeles Superior Court.

Jennifer Rosenblatt, an individual, vs. AVN Corporation, Teddy Communications Inc, Paul Fishbein, Darren Roberts...

Complaint for Damages:

1. Breach of Written Contract.

2. Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

3. Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy

4. Gender and Disability Discrimination

5. Harassment

6. Retaliation

7. Violation of Cal. Gov. Code 12940

8. Violation of California Family Rights Act

9. Declaratory Relief

10. Accounting

Jury Trial Demanded

1. Plaintiff Jennifer Rosenblatt... was fired after she requested time off to attend to a serious illness... Plaintiff was replaced at work by a male.

2. Defendant's publish adult oriented trade magazines that often exploit men's desires to dominate women sexually and otherwise.

10. Plaintiff worked for many years as Senior Vice President and Sales Manager for AVN and TCI [Teddy Communications Inc]. She performed her job competently at all relevant times. At the time she was fired, she was earning more than $300,000 annually in salary, commissions and bonuses.

12. In or about April 2002, plaintiff entered into a written employment agreement with AVN and TCI [through March 31, 2006]:

1. An initial base salary of $75,000 per year increasing to $82,500 per year March 1, 2003 and to $90, 750 on March 1, 2004, and to $99,000 on March 1, 2005;

3. Additional compensation in the form of a "bonus" of 20% of sales of classified advertising for the life of each contract...

4. A seven percent commission for sale of all new display advertising,

6. An automobile allowance of $650 monthly...as of April 2004.

14. On or about April 15, 2003, plaintiff was diagnosed with acute anxiety and provided with a doctor's note recommending that she take a 30 a day leave from work.

[LF says: I believe this anxiety was created by Jenn's difficulty working for her (in her view) erratic and difficult bosses Paul and Darren. In Philadelphia in the 1980s, Paul had a secretary who went bonkers while working for him.]

15. Fishbein refused to allow her to take that leave.

16. May 18 defendants fired plaintiff for no cause.

17. Defendants have not paid plaintiff what is due her...

18. Within the year preceding her termination, and at times prior thereto, defendant ROBERTS repeatedly showed his dislike for women in positions of power in the workplace. ROBERTS spoke in a disparaging tone to female employees. ROBERTS also made inappropriate and offensive sexual remarks and gestures to women, including inappropriate and offensive remarks to plaintiff. Such conduct was unwelcome and plaintiff so informed ROBERTS. Nevertheless ROBERTS persisted in such conduct.

[LF says: I find that hard to believe considering that Darren showed his love for women by having a long-running affair with Fishbein's gorgeous secretary Lisa Love while Darren's wife, a former porn star, was pregnant and raising their kids.]

19. Within the last 24 months of the plaintiff's employment, defendants including FISHBEIN fired numerous women and replaced them with men. Only a single female manager remains in defendant's employ. Defendants were upset that plaintiff made so much money under the Employment Agreement -- too much money for a woman.

Gene Ross Weighs In On Rosenblatt Suit Against AVN

Gene Ross writes on Adultfyi.com:

I told some of the AVN story when I left it to go to Extreme Associates but half the adult industry didn't believe what I had to say and the other half silently nodded and winked but never had the guts to lend any vocal or moral support. I know- I saw it all - the first trade show I attended in Vegas in an Extreme Associates capacity, I got the thumbs up, the handshakes, the we know what you're talking about telling nods. But I didn't see any courage, and, frankly, I wasn't asking for it from anyone but myself.

It takes a little bit of guts, you know, to walk away from a good paying job. A great paying job, but what good is it when you spend your days with your twisted stomach making balloon dolls.

I read Rosenblatt's suit and can tell you I've witnessed a lot of what she has to say first hand. Remember, I was there almost from the very beginning, long before Jennifer Rosenblatt came aboard, in the days when another Rosenblatt- Barry- was the first business partner then got greased conveniently out of the equation so that the publisher could cut his printer in to keep AVN afloat.

Reaction To Rosenblatt's Suit Against AVN

A Porn Observer writes:

Reading Jennifer's suit was the nicest thing I've come across in a long time; I kind of wish it wasn't so many pages as I was going to print it out, frame it and hang it over the fireplace.

She missed a bet though...I think she could have made it a class action suit.

Paul Fishbein is an impotent businessman who allowed a misogynistic pig to dictate AVN policies for years and I hope Jennifer destroys the whole damn lot of them. They're getting no less than they deserve.

Wake Up AVN

Cris Kline (a psuedonym for a former AVN employee?) writes:

What a crock a crap to wade through (Gene, Todd, Luke) poor fools stumbling around in their own personal idaho. The law suit is about not getting paid what is owed within the time alotted by law. Employment laws were broken, as well the pain and suffering endured during time of employment. This is an adult gossip site, so of course you would mine the fine detail out of the bigger picture (sexual harrasment). In the whole scehme of things not being paid, and not able to pay your bills is the injustice.

Paul and Darren have always run a good cop bad cop operation. Darren being the bad cop. One will make deals with you the other will step in and break them. It's allways about the money. They are business owners. At the end of the day, friend or no friend, the wallet will win. The constant snivel of "money is tight over at AVN" would most likely be the reason Jennifer was not paid. It's a huge sum of money, and you bet neither Paul nor Darren would take a pay cut, or dip into their personal stash to cover AVN's debt.

Everyone knows Paul has been approached, and is interested in selling AVN. Jennifer's contract/payout isnt exactly appealing to prospective buyers. There were a multitude of reasons to get rid of Jennifer.

From my perspective, this whole mess is just another example of bad business decisions. Paul is crying how dare Jen file, when it was them that put her in the position to file in the first place. Seems to me the ramifications of tweedle dee and tweedle dumb were not thought out as per usual around AVN. Good employees are f--ked over and turned over at the speed of light at that place. The employees that create the problems are never dealt with, the good employess are forced to put up with it. The magazine generates its millions from ad sales, we've all been around to see the magazine pre Jennifer/post Jennifer. You figure it out! Bet the magazine sales have dropped since she left. Part of buying the product is the salesman. It's a relationship. Part of the reason we spent so much with AVN was due to Jennifer. F--k them! There is no doubt in anyones mind, that those greedy f--kers made a truck load off Jennifer. She was a class act compared to the outkast, freakshows that are generally employed over there.

Paul, Darren. Pay the money owed and move on! Everyone knows she made you millions more per year in ad sales than you generated without her.