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Jennifer Lopez's $20 Million Extortion Lawsuit Dismissed

A California judge has dismissed a $20 million extortion countersuit Jennifer Lopez filed against her former chauffeur Hakob Manoukian, E! News reports. Last spring, Manoukian sued the singer, 43, for...

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Kate Stanhope

A California judge has dismissed a $20 million extortion countersuit Jennifer Lopez filed against her former chauffeur Hakob Manoukian, E! News reports.

Last spring, Manoukian sued the singer, 43, for wrongful termination because he said his contract had been breached. Lopez then filed a countersuit, but during a Dec. 21 hearing, a  Los Angeles Superior Court Justice granted the driver's motion to strike Lopez's cross-complaint.

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Manoukian filed a lawsuit in April 2012 against Lopez, her manager Benny Medina and Nuyorican Productions. The suit alleged that he was hired to be the singer's full-time driver, but that the defendants failed to pay him his previously agreed upon annual salary of $72,000. He also claimed he was owed more than $200,000 in "production pay" for Lopez's professional engagements, including filming or performing.

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Manoukian says he was unfairly demoted after Medina humiliated him in public during a job in Atlanta, and then unceremoniously let him go in September 2011 without receiving the promised production or overtime compensation.

The case is scheduled to go to trial sometime next May.