Judge throws out three ‘Borat’ lawsuits

updated 8:52 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2008

NEW YORK - A New York judge has tossed out lawsuits brought by a driving instructor and two etiquette school teachers who said the makers of the movie “Borat” deceived them.

Judge Loretta Preska says all three accepted money and signed agreements releasing the filmmakers from liability. She noted in a Sept. 3 ruling the agreements said the plaintiffs consented to appear in a “documentary-style” movie.

In the 2006 film “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen plays an uncouth and anti-Semitic journalist traveling the United States in pursuit of Pamela Anderson. Cohen often fools people with his gag interviews.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs haven’t returned phone messages seeking comment.

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