RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Ariana Madix is still trying to get Rachel Leviss' revenge porn lawsuit tossed ... but an appeals court just told her the case isn't going anywhere.
The California Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday Ariana can't get Rachel's claims thrown out at this early stage -- siding with the lower court judge who previously rejected her attempt to kill the case.
The former "Vanderpump Rules" star argued Scandoval was a huge public story, so her actions surrounding it were protected as free speech ... but the court says the affair being public didn't make Rachel's private sexual videos public, too.
And that's the heart of Rachel's case against Ariana ... she claims Ariana accessed and copied the videos -- which she says depicted her in a state of undress and masturbating -- from Tom Sandoval's phone before distributing them to others.
The judges stressed they're not saying Rachel's allegations are true -- or that Ariana actually sent the videos to anyone besides Rachel. They're simply saying Ariana can't knock out the lawsuit on free speech grounds ... meaning Rachel gets to keep pressing her case in court.
As we previously reported, Rachel sued Tom and Ariana in 2024 for revenge porn, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Of course, TMZ broke the news of Tom and Ariana's split in March 2023 ... and later reported Ariana had discovered sexual messages and video on Tom's phone, exposing his months-long affair with Rachel.
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