Ronson v. Lavandeira: Court Puts Smack Down on Libel Claim Against Perez Hilton
From Sam Bayard of the Citizen Media Law Project...
As anyone who follows the celebrity rags already knows, a California judge dealt a mortal blow to Samantha Ronson's libel suit againt litigation-magnet Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton) two weeks ago. Sadly, we've missed the scoop on this one, but I do have a copy of the transcript of the court's November 1st ruling. Surely the gossip hounds among you won't mind if I delve into the details a little.
To avoid alienating those who haven't been monitoring the case, I'll give a brief summary of the facts. According to Ronson's complaint, the online magazine "Celebrity Babylon" published statements in late May 2007 accusing Ronson of of planting drugs in Lindsey Lohan's car and "setting up" Lohan for press photographers in exchange for money. On June 1, Lavandeira allegedly republished these statements on his blog, adding that Ronson had been "toxic" for Lohan. Additionally, on June 13, 2007, Lavandeira allegedly published a posting under the headline "Blame Samantha!," which stated: "Was Lindsay Lohan betrayed by her lezbot DJ pal Samantha Ronson? Australia's NW magazine seems to think so. And we wouldn't disagree!" In June, Ronson sued Lavandeira, the Sunset Photo and News agency, which operates Celebrity Babylon, and Jill Ishkanian, its editor-in-chief. The complaint asserted a claim for libel and asked for $20 million in damages. (Ronson settled with Ishkanian for an undisclosed sum in October.)
On September 4, Lavandeira filed a motion to strike the complaint pursuant to California's anti-SLAPP statute (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. ยง 425.16). On November 1, the court granted Lavandeira's motion to strike the complaint.
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For more on the regulation of citizen journalism, visit the Citizen Media Law Project blog.
As anyone who follows the celebrity rags already knows, a California judge dealt a mortal blow to Samantha Ronson's libel suit againt litigation-magnet Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton) two weeks ago. Sadly, we've missed the scoop on this one, but I do have a copy of the transcript of the court's November 1st ruling. Surely the gossip hounds among you won't mind if I delve into the details a little.
To avoid alienating those who haven't been monitoring the case, I'll give a brief summary of the facts. According to Ronson's complaint, the online magazine "Celebrity Babylon" published statements in late May 2007 accusing Ronson of of planting drugs in Lindsey Lohan's car and "setting up" Lohan for press photographers in exchange for money. On June 1, Lavandeira allegedly republished these statements on his blog, adding that Ronson had been "toxic" for Lohan. Additionally, on June 13, 2007, Lavandeira allegedly published a posting under the headline "Blame Samantha!," which stated: "Was Lindsay Lohan betrayed by her lezbot DJ pal Samantha Ronson? Australia's NW magazine seems to think so. And we wouldn't disagree!" In June, Ronson sued Lavandeira, the Sunset Photo and News agency, which operates Celebrity Babylon, and Jill Ishkanian, its editor-in-chief. The complaint asserted a claim for libel and asked for $20 million in damages. (Ronson settled with Ishkanian for an undisclosed sum in October.)
On September 4, Lavandeira filed a motion to strike the complaint pursuant to California's anti-SLAPP statute (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. ยง 425.16). On November 1, the court granted Lavandeira's motion to strike the complaint.
- continued -
For more on the regulation of citizen journalism, visit the Citizen Media Law Project blog.