Francis was due to face up to a civil suit filed by four Florida women who allege the sex movie boss filmed them while they were underage, but opted out of appearing in court after falling deathly ill during a trip to Mexico.

The embattled adult filmmaker was scheduled to appear before a judge in Panama City, Florida but his attorney provided a doctor’s note and explained the Francis is in a Mexican hospital, fighting off an ear infection and a high fever.

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal troubles for Joe Francis, who was slammed with a multimillion tax invasion lawsuit from the Internal Revenue Service last week.

The IRS wants some serious money from the sleaze, filing a lien against him for a staggering $33,819,087.14 in unpaid taxes from 2001, 2002 and 2003. For his part, Joe has decided to go with the “I Have No Idea” defense. The Girls Gone Wild founder insists he’s forked over the dough he allegedly owes the U.S. government and cannot fathom why he’s being sued.

“I have no idea what it is,” Joe told TMZ.com Wednesday. “This is total retaliation for me beating them in court.”

The new tax mess comes just two weeks after the soft-porn king agreed to a plea deal to escape jail time in a federal tax evasion case. Joe claims that federal officials have taken more than $100 million in cash accounts, forcing him to file for bankruptcy.

Joe, who has been cleared by police of all charges in connection with the brawl, claims he was in fear for life after the 115-pound brunette threatened to kill him.

Of course, we all know how scary those nude models can be…..

The fight occurred after Jayde threw a drink in Joe’s face after reportedy seeing him harassing his ex-girlfriend, who is a friend of hers.

In the video footage posted on RadarOnline, a man alleged to be Joe is seen grabbing Jayde by the hair and pulling her to the ground and dragging her through the bar.

“He can’t lie anymore!” Jayde Nicole told Radar. “It makes me absolutely cringe.”

Brody — who recently underwent surgery to have his appendix removed — tells TMZ.com that he and Jade were having a belated 26th birthday bash at Guys & Dolls when the former Playmate tossed a drink on Francis, who she believes has been stalking one of her friends.

How old are these people again?

Subsequently, Joe is accused of pulling a Chris Brown and throwing Jade to the ground, “punching and kicking her.” (Wow — a pornographer who doesn’t respect women? This is truly shocking!) Jayde claims she suffered facial swelling and bruising and sore lower abdomen as a result of Joe’s alleged assault. She also says some of her hair was pulled out in the fight. The model plans to file charges against Francis.

But the fun didn’t stop there.

Joe Francis then followed Brody out of the club and punched him in the face. The reality star was then shot with a taser gun by an unknown assiliant.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the incident.

The C-listers reportedly got into a violent screaming match at Club MyHouse in Los Angeles last night.

“Brody was with his girl friend [Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole] when Joe came over. He accidentally bumped into Jayde, prompting Brody and his posse to get heated at Joe,” a spywitness revealed in a scoop to The NY Post’s Page Six.

Joe had to be escorted out by club security.

Francis told Page Six when quizzed about the confrontation: “There was no physical contact, but if you’re Brody Jenner and dating an ugly piece of trash . . . you should expect these types of altercations.”

Bravo reality star Kim Zolciak has a new “Big Poppa.” We hear The Real Housewives of Atlanta troublemaker has started dating Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis.

It’s hard out here for a perv! In a tough econonmy, X-rated aficionados have less cash to fork over on a monthly membership to 8thStreetLatinas.com.

Adult entertainment moguls Larry Flynt (Hustler) and Joe Francis, of Girls Gone Wild fame, are pleading with Congress to grant the adult industry a $5 billion bailout, after DVD sales plummeted in the last 12 months due to the global recession.

“With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It’s time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America,” the Hustler founder said Wednesday.

The porn bosses say they will state their case during an upcoming trip Washington D.C. Francis and Flynt hope to make government officials understand that adult entertainment is an intricate part of the U.S. economy. He tells TMZ.com, “Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation’s most important businesses; we feel we deserve the same consideration.”

A war of words has erupted between Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis and Samantha Ronson after the celebrity DJ slammed the “ill-mannered” Francis for ignoring her at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles last month.

Apparently, Joe joins Lohan patriarch, Michael Lohan, in his belief that Samantha has manipulated Lindsay into a life of lesbianism with the use of coochie voodoo.

During an appearance on The Tyra Banks Show Tuesday, Joe insists he doesn’t understand why the pair are together.

“(Ronson is) very jealous. Samantha tried to start a fight with me. I care about Lindsay – she’s not gay. She’s being controlled by this… wretched woman, this Samantha.”

Lindsay isn’t pleased with Joe’s remarks, writing on her official blog Tuesday: “Joe Francis has no place in saying anything about Samantha… especially after all the s**t he has done.”

Joe Francis won’t be clawing his way up the reality TV corporate ladder after all. Francis has been kicked off the cast for the second season of Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. Joe was ousted from the show after NBC executives determined the recently-incarcerated Girls Gone Wild founder’s image wasn’t wholesome enough for network television. Drunk girls removing their tops for Mardi Gras beads-what could be more All-American than that?

“Donald Trump and I decided to do a different show. I would have added a lot to ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ and I would have been excited to do it, but I’m more excited by this other idea,” Joe told the New York Post on Monday.