That great art-making studio Mantra Films Inc. and its subsidiary Girls Gone Wild continue to be pelted with a barrage from the entire legal sphere.

This time, it’ll be a sexual harassment suit filed by former employee Tranae Hammond awaiting Mantra and Girls. In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Hammond alleges that she was sexually harassed on several occasions by a supervisor and that she was unduly fired from her position of sales rep at Mantra Films after reporting said incidents.

The notorious founder of Girls Gone Wild, Joe Francis, may or may not have been directly named in the lawsuit (see below), but he is reported as being “taken to task for not properly managing the two companies and failing to acknowledge or prevent the acts from occurring.”

The complaint does say that the supervisor “touched and massaged Hammond’s shoulders and arms, frequently spoke about sex in front of her, and on at least one occasion, tapped her buttocks with a clipboard. These actions resulted in creating a hostile work environment…”

Further, Hammond and her legal team will be seeking class-action status for other claims regarding Mantra’s failure to pay overtime and provide breaks.

In response to all queries, Mantra Films and Girls Gone Wild have released the following statement. It is reproduced in its entirety not (necessarily) so that you may giggle at its attempts at sobriety, but so that any and all of your questions might be answered.

While Mantra Films cannot at this time independently verify or contradict many of the items alleged in the lawsuit filed by Tranae Hammond, we want to make clear that there are absolutely no allegations that Joe Francis was involved in any harassment or other wrongdoing. In fact, the lawsuit doesn’t even allege that Ms. Hammond ever met Mr. Francis.

Mantra Films employs more than 400 people in five separate locations in the Los Angeles Area. Mantra Films has stringent policies against sexual harassment and provides a safe, professional and compliant work environment for all of its employees. The Company plans to vigorously investigate and defend the allegations made by Ms. Hammond.

Any questions? Please see above.

The Mantra and Girls Gone Wild organizations – not to mention Francis himself – are a veritable magnet for legal action. Just to name a few examples then…

In September 2005, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Wendell Mortimer Jr. allowed a class-action lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild alleging that Mantra Films “automatically signed video and DVD customers up for monthly mailings after they requested a reduced-price ‘introductory’ mailing. Such complaints have been compiled by at least 2003 online to help the basis for the ‘suit. Check out the Consumer Affairs website for a small sampling; i’m sure they’ll take your complaint if you want to contribute.

Earlier that year, the Federal Trade Commission charged Mantra Films with deceptive practices for allegedly charging consumers credit and debit cards without consent. The complaint seeks civil penalties for violations of FTC regulations, penalties worth $11,000 per.

Year 2003 saw some 22 criminal charges brought against Francis and co. in Florida. Busted in the state during Spring Break season (imagine that), and the poor ol’ porn merchant – i mean, video entertainment producer – even had his private jet and Ferrari impounded.

Right now, of course, Francis is in Reno, Nev. doing time for tax evasion. But they’re still selling Girls Gone Wild – two DVDs for $9.99! Special introductory offer!