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"Jersey Shore" Producers Engaged in "Criminal Enterprise"?

"Jersey Shore" Cast (MTV)

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (CBS/AP) The producers of MTV's hit reality show "Jersey Shore" are in quite a "situation."

PICTURES: "Jersey Shore" Naked Photo Flap

A New Jersey judge has agreed to hear a lawsuit that claims "Jersey Shore" producers engaged in a "criminal enterprise" by profiting from showing fights that cast members deliberately provoked.

Attorney Eugene LaVergne of Long Branch said Monday that he filed the suit in March and seeks unspecified monetary damages on behalf of three clients involved in drunken fights with cast member Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.

On MTV's Jersey Shore "Meet the Cast" web page, it states, "Ronnie might find himself in a brawl or two, but he is a lover who just wants to have a good time."

On Friday, Superior Court Judge Joseph L. Foster denied a motion to dismiss the claim that the defendants' conduct violated New Jersey's racketeering statute.

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PICTURES: "Jersey Shore" Naked Photo Flap

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January 13, 2010 - "Snooki" Gets Punched, Teacher Brad Ferro Gets Fired
January 11, 2010 - Ronnie from MTV's "Jersey Shore" Was Arrested for Bar Fight
December 14, 2009 - "Snooki" Punched in the Face, Gym Teacher Arrested, MTV Pulls Scene from "Jersey Shore"

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