Arbitration Award for Queen of Versailles

Jacqueline Siegel, Orlando's Queen of Versailles, is free to pursue dreams of reality television after an arbitrator recently ruled against a filmmaker who claimed the Siegels signed away rights to their life story. The independent documentary film entitled "The Queen of Versailles" was a hit of the film festival circuit, including a Directing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. However, Siegel's victory comes with a bill for $750,000 in legal fees incurred by the filmmaker and her husband, in connection with a separate lawsuit. David Siegel's time-share company, Westgate Resorts, sued the couple for defamation and lost. An arbitrator in that case said he did not find any of the content in the movie to be false. The film was hailed as one of the best documentaries of the Great Recession and detailed the Siegels' quest to build the biggest home in America. Court documents claimed the couples' life-story rights were valued at $50 million. Reportedly, the victory might lead to a reality television show. David Siegel claims the couple is in negotiations with several networks. The filmmaker had argued the couple signed away rights to their life story as part of the filming release. The arbitrator apparently ruled differently, saying the life story releases were invalid and unenforceable. Attorneys for the filmmakers maintain their victory in the defamation suit was a triumph for First Amendment rights. See full story here-- http://bit.ly/PMdcbc

Siegel to Arbitrate over portrayal in 'Queen' documentary

The U.S. District Court in Orlando stayed David Siegel's defamation claim against filmmakers who created "The Queen of Versailles" movie, sending him to arbitration in California. The film documents the Siegel's quest to build the largest home in America while depicting troubles faced by his Westgate time-share business during the recession. Siegel argues the movie makes it appear the business has failed which he says hurt its reputation. Westgate's attorneys claimed proper permissions were not obtained. Apparently, the signature on the releases signed by the mogul's son as his agent binds Westgate to arbitration. The judge, ruling on the basis of a prior evidentiary hearing, rejected each Siegel's testimony as inconsistent, incredible and lacking weight. If it heads to arbitration, the case will likely be presented at the Independent Film and Television Alliance. See articles http://bit.ly/W7cFQ3 and http://thesent.nl/VsxOH0 and the ruling here-- http://bit.ly/VNf5SK