Judge dismisses Temptations suit

U.S. District Court Judge John Feikens said he could not stop the filming of the program, scheduled to air on NBC Nov. 1-2.

Gregory Reed argued the series, labeled as a docudrama, should be stopped because it would confuse its viewers.

"Any docudrama is not covered by the First Amendment," Reed said. "It creates a state of confusion. The viewer doesn't know what is fact and what is fiction."

Attorney Melanie LaFave, representing the series producer Suzanne de Passe, argued that claim had no grounds.

"Fiction, fact, a blend - it's protected," she said.

Reed also argued that the four-hour series would damage the Ruffin family. Excerpts from the script show that Ruffin's mother, Earlene Ruffin, is depicted as an unchaste woman and that she gave the young David to a pimp. Reed said these images are false.

Feikens said such complaints could be sorted out as defamation lawsuits after the series has been made and broadcast.

Reed disagreed.

"There's no accurate remedy when you have children who have to carry this burden of shame," he said, talking about Ruffin's grandchildren.

Attorney Herschel Fink, representing Motown, cited cases such as the Pentagon Papers and argued that "we simply can't consider a prior restraint. The law, the Constitution, prohibits it."

Members of the Ruffin family said they were disappointed by the judge's decision. Ruffin died in 1991.

Ruffin's ex-wife, Sandra Ruffin, said she was upset that the series could not be stopped.

"Everybody will suffer because it's not true," she said. "They didn't come to anybody in the family for the truth."

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