BRET MICHAELS' Lawsuit Against TONY AWARDS Moved To New York

According to The Associated Press, Bret Michaels' lawsuit against the Tony Awards has been moved to New York.

US District Judge Dolly Gee ruled Tuesday it makes more sense the case to be heard in Manhattan, where the POISON frontman was struck in the head by a set piece after performing at the 2009 Tonys.

In a March 2011 statement, Michaels' attorney, Alex Weingarten, said about Bret's decision to lawsuit against the Tony Awards, "The Tony Awards dropped a piece of the stage on Bret's head, and then instead of doing the right thing, joked about it and played it off for ratings Bret never wanted to file a lawsuit, but the Tony Awards have left us with no choice. They must be held accountable for almost killing Bret, and that is what we are going to do."

A copy of the lawsuit can be viewed as a PDF file at this location.

Michaels, 48, discussed the legal dispute after being honored at a juvenile-diabetes fundraiser sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. According to D Magazine, Bret said that talks to resolve the matter earlier broke down because, "let's just say, they were pretty cold," Michaels said, referring to the defendants in the lawsuit. In the end, he decided mainly to ask to be compensated for work time lost due to his injuries, which included stitches with a cut lip and a broken nose. Michaels explained that the broadcast could have been "delayed" to avoid embarrassing him. "They never needed to show me getting hurt," he added. "They didn't offer to pay my medical costs or anything. I'm sorry it came to this."

The suit, originally filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, states that Michaels was told by the producers that he should simply exit from the stage rear after he was done with his performance. The suit states that Michaels was never told the scenery piece would be descending or given "any warning of the existence of the dangers it presented."

According to the lawsuit, Bret nearly died in April 2010 from a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage, which he believes was caused by the injuries he suffered at the Tony Awards. In his suit, Michaels claims, "One of the most common causes of this type of hemorrhage is head trauma exactly like the one Michaels suffered at the hands of the Tony Awards." Michaels notes, "Through his sheer will to live, to see his children grow up, [he] was able to survive this trauma."

Shortly after the Tony Awards incident, Tonys spokeswoman Christina Stejskal said the rocker "missed his mark," which resulted in him failing to get back to the stage in time (as did the rest of POISON) and trying to jump up, only to have a descending set piece smack him on the head and knock him to the ground.