LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis was taken into custody after showing up for a routine court hearing several hours late on Monday due to a serious illness, but was quickly released after the reason for his tardiness was explained to the court.
Francis fell ill over the weekend with symptoms of the flu and by Sunday his condition had deteriorated so much that Francis' physician came to his residence to provide treatment. Francis' doctor treated him with medication and injections and ordered strict bed rest. The doctor provided Francis with a signed letter explaining his treatment and the strict orders for bed rest.
The following Monday morning, Francis was scheduled to appear in court at 8:30 am for a pretrial hearing in a civil matter. Francis, still extremely ill, attempted to meet his legal obligations by contacting the pretrial officer to request a postponement. However, the pretrial officer was out of the office and did not receive the message. When Francis later learned that his message to the pretrial officer had not be received, he got out of bed despite his illness and on the advice of his attorney Mark Werksman, made his way to the courthouse. To his surprise, he was taken into custody as a result of showing up a few hours late for his scheduled hearing.
After receiving his physician's note about Francis' emergency medical situation, the court ordered Francis released. The hearing has been rescheduled, and Francis has returned home.
