by AP – A lawyer who claims “High School Musical” lead Vanessa Hudgens owes him $150,000 in legal fees can proceed with his lawsuit against the teen star, a judge ruled Wednesday. Superior Court Judge Tricia Ann Bigelow said she or a jury should decide whether the actress acted within a reasonable period of time when she waited two years to repudiate a contract she signed when she was 16. Attorney Brian Schall filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in September that said Hudgens agreed in October 2005 to pay him 5 percent of her earnings in exchange for his legal representation. Hudgens earned more than $5 million with his help, Schall says in his lawsuit. Hudgens disavowed the agreement on Oct. 9. She turns 19 later this month. Her attorney argued that state law provides that a contract with a minor can be voided before the person turns 18 or “within a reasonable time afterward.” Hayes F. Michel, an attorney for Schall, argued in court papers that Hudgens claims “she was too young and innocent to be bound by a legal contract … and was preyed upon by the very lawyer who helped her make enough money to pay her current lawyers.” The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Jan. 15.
