Judge Approves Deal Between ‘Hottest Girl in America’ and Girls Gone...

The woman crowned Girls Gone Wild’s Hottest Girl in America in 2010 is finally going to get paid for winning the contest.

Earlier this week, a California bankruptcy judge approved a settlement between Chelsea Heath, 25, and lawyers who are settling old legal disputes involving Girls Gone Wild. Under the deal, Ms. Heath is expected to get at least $12,500 for the prize money she never got, according to court papers.

Ms. Heath, a Louisiana native, was picked from thousands of contestants with help from voting fans. She was put on the cover of Girls Gone Wild’s magazine, collected $5,000 and was supposed to get $1,000 for the next 12 months. But after the company made several payments, Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis fired her, her lawyers said in a copy of a complaint that was filed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles.

Ms. Heath, who is an actress working on an independent horror film, will also get the power to push for more money when it becomes clear how much remains from the $1.8 million sale of the Girls Gone Wild brand earlier this year.

Girls Gone Wild’s operations filed for Chapter 11 protection in February 2013 to block Las Vegas entertainment kingpin Steve Wynn and his resort company from taking the companies’ assets as repayment for Mr. Francis’s gambling debts, which had climbed beyond $30 million. Mr. Francis faces jail time for failing to turn over two luxury cars.