LONDON, March 24 (UPI) -- A British nightlife tycoon has sued David and Victoria Beckham for slander after paying heavily to attend their World Cup party last year.
Dave West says that he heard that the couple called him "unsavory." He bought two tickets to the party through a charity auction for 103,000 pounds ($200,000).
West, 63, stayed away from the Full Length and Fabulous Ball last May after he was told he could not wear his usual trademark clothing, a pink suit, the Evening Standard reported.
A judge ruled Friday that the Beckhams, the soccer star and the former singer Posh Spice, could not be held liable for breach of contract because the party was actually put together by a company set up specifically for the event. But he allowed the slander claim to stand.
"If true, he was treated in a rather shabby way," Justice Charles Gray said.
West told reporters after the hearing that he did not understand why Beckham treated him so badly given that they share working class origins.
"I deal with people from all walks of life and have never been treated in so shabby and disrespectful a manner," West said. "I am more saint than unsavory."
