“Hurt Locker” Lawsuit to Proceed, But Not in NJ

A judge has ruled that a lawsuit by an Iraq war vet against the makers of the Academy Award-winning film "The Hurt Locker'' can proceed, but in a different venue.

U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh's ruling published Friday shifts the case from New Jersey to California. The judge denied the defendants' motion to dismiss the suit.

The lawsuit was brought last spring by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver, an Army bomb disposal expert. Sarver claims the film's lead character is based on him and that he was given no credit or compensation.

Screenwriter Mark Boal wrote about Sarver in an article published in Playboy magazine in 2005. Boal has said the film was a work of fiction.

Among the defendants in the suit are Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow.