Johnny Depp Lawsuit: Robin Eckert Can Seek Damages Against Actor

College Professor Can Seek Damages Against Johnny Dep
FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2012 file photo, actor Johnny Depp participates in a photo call and press conference for the film "West of Memphis" at TIFF Bell Lightbox during the Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto. HarperCollins Publishers announced Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, that Depp will help run an imprint that will be a home for authentic, outspoken and visionary books. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2012 file photo, actor Johnny Depp participates in a photo call and press conference for the film "West of Memphis" at TIFF Bell Lightbox during the Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto. HarperCollins Publishers announced Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, that Depp will help run an imprint that will be a home for authentic, outspoken and visionary books. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

A college professor has been given the go-ahead by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to seek punitive damages against actor Johnny Depp.

Robin Eckert, a U.C. Irvine medical professor, filed a lawsuit last April that alleged the "Dark Shadows" actor's bodyguards attacked her while at an Iggy and the Stooges concert at the Hollywood Palladium last December. Eckert, the mother of two, had attended the concert with her husband.

Among the complaints that 53-year-old Eckert filed was that the bodyguards handcuffed her, dragged her on the ground through the arena's VIP area and caused her pants to fall off, according to the Los Angeles Times. She also contended that the incident had caused lasting trauma and worsened her fibromyalgia condition. In response, Depp's attorneys asserted in the court papers that Eckert had "consented to any assault and battery" by acting with hostile behavior at the show. The case goes to court on Aug. 12.

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