Paris Hilton cleared in film publicity trial

A US District Court judge has ruled that Paris Hilton will not be made liable for the costs of her flop movie Pledge This!, reports BBC News.

The star had been sued for $8.3 million (£5 million) by the producers of the sorority comedy over allegations that she failed to sufficiently promote its DVD release.

However, the court ruled that she may still have to repay the $1 million (£607,493) fee that she received to appear in and executive produce the failed film.

Delivering his verdict at a Miami court, Judge Federico Moreno suggested that the movie's failure was caused by the "inexperienced" producers, adding: "Any causal connection between Ms Hilton's alleged breaches and the financial ruin of the film are wholly speculative."

Hilton had insisted that she had "relentlessly promoted" the movie but admitted that her busy schedule meant that she could not always accommodate last-minute requests from filmmakers.

Judge Moreno agreed with the socialite, saying that that the producers had sent "scattershot requests to their principal star in the hopes that she could find time to promote a sinking ship".

The Worldwide Entertainment Group has been given until August 28 to argue whether Hilton should be forced to repay part or all of her fee.