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usatoday

Marketer's suit against Reggie Bush to be in open court

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A sports marketer's civil suit against former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush will proceed in open court instead of going to a confidential arbitration, a judge ruled Friday.

Lawyers for the New Orleans Saints' running back petitioned to move the case into closed proceedings in San Francisco, in part to shield Bush from public attention.

Attorneys for marketer Lloyd Lake argued that the former University of Southern California star was trying to hide details from NCAA investigators about improper gifts he allegedly took from Lake's New Era Sports agency while playing for the Trojans.

Superior Court Judge Joan Lewis found there was no basis for granting the request and ordered pretrial depositions to continue as scheduled beginning at the end of the month.

Lewis rejected a request from Lake's lawyers to hear testimony from Michael Michaels, Lake's former partner in New Era, which was founded in November 2005 and is now defunct. Michaels, who owned a San Diego-area house where Bush's parents allegedly lived rent-free, reached an out-of-court settlement with the family in April 2007.

Lake is suing to recoup about $291,000 in cash and gifts Bush and his parents, Denise and Lamar Griffin, allegedly accepted during Bush's sophomore and junior seasons at USC, when fledgling New Era was seeking to make Bush its first major client.

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