Dr. Dre off the hook in Detroit

DETROIT, April 21 (UPI) -- A Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Detroit officials suing rapper Dr. Dre for privacy invasion must prove their conversation was recorded with hidden equipment.

Several Detroit officials, including former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer's press secretary, Gregory Bowens, and Second Deputy Police Chief Paula Bridges, filed suit against Dre and a host of other defendants involved in the Up In Smoke Tour. Included in a platinum-selling DVD of the tour is a backstage conversation in which city representatives asked Dre pull from his July 2000 concert an 8-minute video containing nudity, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Wayne County Circuit Court dismissed the suit in 2003 and the state appellate court largely upheld the dismissal Wednesday, leaving the plaintiffs with one recourse of action: prove the video and audio equipment used to record the conversation were intentionally hidden.

The plaintiffs would also have to prove malice in Dre's inclusion of the conversation on his DVD because the officials are public figures.