A federal judge has thrown out a $170 million lawsuit filed nearly a year ago against William Shatner by a Florida man who claims the “Star Trek” actor is his father.
Peter Michael Sloan, who at one point went by the name Peter Shatner, filed the lawsuit in state court in March, but it was kicked up to federal court in Tampa on Friday.
The lawsuit goes back to a meeting between Sloan and Shatner on the set of “T.J. Hooker” in Burbank, California, the lawsuit claimed.
Sloan alleged in his lawsuit that Shatner admitted he was the man’s father, a claim denied by Shatner and his representatives.
“I had another conversation with Bill, who confirmed to me once again that he is not your father,” Shatner’s attorney, Erik Hyman, said in a November 2011 letter to Sloan cited in the lawsuit. “There have been many people over the years who have claimed to be his children or other relatives.
“He is an incredibly busy, 80-year-old man, and is not interested in spending time discussing this issue with you or any such individuals.”
At the time, Sloan was going by the name Peter Shatner on his radio program, something Hyman warned against in the letter.
“All of your actions (including the use of my client’s valuable name and likeness without his approval) are at your own risk,” the letter said, according to Sloan’s lawsuit.
Sloan, who represented himself in the lawsuit, sought a requirement that Shatner take a paternity test and asked for $170 million in damages.
In an order signed Tuesday and filed in Tampa federal court Wednesday, the judge in the case called Sloan’s suit “a rambling recitation of various alleged meetings, letters, articles, radio transcripts and internet posts.”
“(Sloan’s) complaint, even liberally construed, fails to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and fails to assert any discernible basis for the relief sought against the named defendants.”
In dismissing Sloan’s lawsuit, the judge gave him until Feb. 28 to file an updated complaint.
About the Author
