Joe Francis files suit against girls' parents

"Girls Gone Wild'' entrepreneur Joe Francis wants a California court to rescind a settlement he claims a federal judge coerced him into signing.

Francis, who created the popular video series that features young women baring their breasts, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the parents of three underage girls, aiming to vacate an agreement reached in Panama City, and get his payout returned. The girls were filmed there, and their parents subsequently sued Francis.

He agreed to settle the civil case after U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak jailed him in 2007 for contempt of court.

In Francis' suit, he accuses Smoak of siding with former law partners to jail Francis and force him to settle on terms favorable to the girls. An attorney from a law firm where Smoak was once a partner represented the girls and their parents.

Smoak declined to comment on Francis' allegations.

The judge ordered Francis jailed in 2007 after finding him in contempt of court. Attorneys for the girls said Francis yelled obscenities at them during a mediation meeting and refused to settle the case.

Francis now claims he was bulldozed into signing the settlement - by being jailed - and that it should be revoked.

The 35-year-old multimillionaire's lawsuit states he understood that he "had no choice but to enter into the settlement in order to avoid further incarceration.''

Francis declined to say how much he paid, but described it as "a fortune.'' He had previously told The Associated Press that the girls were asking for $70 million.

Robert Barnes, one of Francis' lawyers, said the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles because that's where Francis and his company, Mantra Films Inc., are based.

Francis said his actions are intended to protect average citizens.

"This fight is way bigger than me,'' Francis said in an interview after a press conference announcing the lawsuit. "If this stands, this single-handedly undermines the entire civil judicial process in this country.''

Francis, who earns an estimated $29 million a year from the "Girls Gone Wild'' series, asked supporters on his Web site to write letters to Congress and seek Smoak's impeachment.

His defiant tone Tuesday was different from April 2007, when he pleaded guilty to the federal contempt charge, weeping openly in a Panama City courtroom and apologizing for yelling during settlement negotiations.

Francis has been a legal lightning rod. Earlier this year, he pleaded no contest to criminal charges in Panama City to a handful of felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from his 2003 arrest on suspicion of filming underage girls. Francis declared his innocence immediately afterward, saying he entered the plea to get out of jail.

He still faces federal tax evasion charges in Los Angeles and has been sued in Las Vegas for $2 million in gambling debts that Francis claims he has already settled through "prior agreements.''