Porn actress Katie Summers is suing porn director and former actor John Stagliano, who is better known as 'Buttman' in the pornography industry, for failing to disclose that he was HIV-positive when she appeared in a scene with him in 2009.

Summers filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Stagliano and his company Evil Angel, alleging "negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, [and] sexual battery" in connection with her performance in the movie Buttman's Stretch Class 4, which was released in 2010.

"Actors engaged in sexual contact during the productions of adult films in the state of California are as a matter of custom and practice, required to provide evidence of testing for HIV and are not allowed to engage in sexual contact if they have a test which indicates they are HIV positive," the lawsuit, which was obtained by XBIZ.com, says. "... As a result of Stagliano's wrongful conduct, [Summers] has suffered damages."

Stagliano has known that he is HIV-positive since his diagnosis in 1997.

In an exclusive interview with XBIZ.com, Stagliano's wife Karen said that the suit is without merit and that he intends to fight the allegations. "John and the company feel that he did not do anything with Katie Summers that would warrant having to inform her of his HIV status," she said. "He had no genital contact with her, no sexual touching of her genitals at all that would have put her at any sort of a medical risk whatsoever."

Karen also said that Stagliano's HIV has been undetectable for over 15 years. According to Advocate.com, an HIV positive person is considered "undetectable" when they have undergone antiretroviral therapy and their viral levels fall below a measurable point. One study indicated that early antiretroviral therapy could reduce the risk of HIV transmission by a whopping 96 percent. But that does not mean the virus has been cured and those who come in sexual contact with even an undetectable infected person are still at risk — as small as it may be — of contracting the disease.

Stagliano is not the first porn actor to face legal consequences for exposing his colleagues in the profession to a sexually transmitted disease. Just last month, adult video star Mr. Marcus was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 36 months of probation, and 15 days of community labor after he exposed his female co-stars to syphilis in an outbreak that caused the pornography industry to close its doors for nearly two months.

Summers has not specified the damages she is seeking in her suit, but she has asked the judge for a preliminary injunction, which would prevent Stagliano and Evil Angel from producing films unless he discloses his HIV status to others.