Defamation Of Character

After flat-lining twice on the operating table, Pastor Joe Sabolick figured the worst chapter of his life was over. But when he returned to his office at Calvary Chapel of Laguna Beach a few weeks later, the locks had been changed -- and his handpicked church board, including his older brother, had fired him amid allegations that he embezzled money and was "fixated" on the wife and daughter of an assistant pastor.

Michael Jackson's longtime dermatologist and friend filed suit Monday accusing another physician with a decades-long relationship with the pop icon of slandering him in a British tabloid report about Jackson's death. In papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, lawyers for Dr. Arnold Klein alleged that cosmetic surgeon Dr. Steven Hoefflin made statements to the newspaper that he knew were false in an attempt to wreck a rival's reputation and hurt his celebrity-studded Beverly Hills practice.

Question: I put up with a lot of bullying from my San Fernando Valley's condo association board. I have never been late with my monthly assessments. They are paid no later than the 15th of the month and would be delinquent on the 16th. Yet the board president harasses me every month. He addressed a letter to me, and copied it to all the homeowners, that said, "You were asked very nicely to pay your dues no later than the 5th of the month because I was going out of town.

A jury can decide whether the author of a bestselling book about the death of Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith defamed her lawyer by making allegations that may be too outlandish to be true, including that he pimped her to up to 50 men a year, a judge concluded Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin found plenty of reasons to let a jury hear the facts behind a $60-million libel lawsuit brought by lawyer Howard K. Stern against "Blonde Ambition" author Rita Cosby, a veteran television news anchor and "Inside Edition" correspondent.

Locked in a visitation dispute with his former girlfriend over their young daughter, J.P. Weichel wanted to vent, court records say. Weichel, 40, allegedly posted comments about the woman on the Craigslist "rants and raves" forum, accusing her of child abuse and welfare fraud and making crude comments about her sex life. The woman said the postings were defamatory.

If it please the court, let us stipulate to a few things upfront: First, Zsa Zsa Gabor does n ot look so fat that it would take three or four strong men to lift her onto a horse. And Elke Sommer does not resemble a bald-headed, Hollywood has-been who hangs out in seedy bars and has to sell hand-knitted pullover sweaters to eke out a living.

A jury Monday ordered Zsa Zsa Gabor and her husband to pay Elke Sommer $2 million for allegedly telling German publications that Sommer is a financially strapped Hollywood has-been. The Santa Monica Superior Court panel awarded Sommer $800,000 in general damages for statements attributed to Gabor and $1.2 million in general damages for statements linked to Frederick von Anhalt. The jury was scheduled to resume deliberations today to decide punitive damages.

The Rev. Frederick K.C. Price may have two Bentleys, but a spokesman for his 22,000-member church says his Palos Verdes house doesn't boast 25 rooms and he definitely doesn't own a helicopter. A lawsuit Price filed Tuesday claims that ABC's "20/20" defamed him when it suggested otherwise, portraying him as a "hypocrite and thief" who financed an extravagant lifestyle with church funds.

George Harrison sued a supermarket tabloid for $200 million Monday for allegedly publishing a story last month that paints the ex-Beatle as a devotee of Adolf Hitler and Nazism. The defamation of character lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that the Globe of Boca Raton, Fla.

When married real estate agents Scott and Melinda Tamkin read about an episode of the hit crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" that featured dirty-dealing, S&M-loving real estate agents named Scott and Melinda Tamkin, they didn't need to consult a forensic expert for an explanation. A house sale involving the Tamkins and a "CSI" producer had fallen apart four years before, and the producer was listed, in the same online description, as the co-writer of the episode.

When married real estate agents Scott and Melinda Tamkin read about an episode of the hit crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" that featured dirty-dealing, S&M-loving real estate agents named Scott and Melinda Tamkin, they didn't need to consult a forensic expert for an explanation. A house sale involving the Tamkins and a "CSI" producer had fallen apart four years before, and the producer was listed, in the same online description, as the co-writer of the episode.

A South Korean doctor who accused a Los Angeles businessman of plagiarism has been convicted of defamation in his home country and ordered to pay a $750 fine. The Seoul Central District Court found that Dr. Jeong-Hwan Kim had damaged the reputation of Kwang Yul Cha, a fertility doctor and chancellor of a South Korean university with ties to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. The academic dispute led to a rare showdown with an American medical journal.

Locked in a visitation dispute with his former girlfriend over their young daughter, J.P. Weichel wanted to vent, court records say. Weichel, 40, allegedly posted comments about the woman on the Craigslist "rants and raves" forum, accusing her of child abuse and welfare fraud and making crude comments about her sex life. The woman said the postings were defamatory.

A judge has dismissed former New York Post gossip columnist Jared Paul Stern's defamation lawsuit against the New York Daily News, supermarket mogul Ron Burkle and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Stern denied Burkle's claim that he'd demanded money to squelch negative news. The Clintons are friends of Burkle, and the former president complained about Stern's Page Six column. The Daily News reported on the fracas involving its rival. Stern's lawsuit, filed in March 2007, accused Burkle and the Clintons of trying to defame and discredit him. He claimed that the Daily News -- along with a publicist and a former Secret Service investigator -- conspired with them.

The New York woman who sued Oscar De La Hoya -- seeking $25 million for slander and claiming she was pressured to recant the legitimacy of photos she allegedly took of the boxer in fishnet stockings, high heels and other women's garb -- has dismissed her claim. Facing a possible countersuit by De La Hoya, model and former stripper Milana Dravnel dismissed her case Friday after an expert assessed the photos as "doctored," De La Hoya's attorney said.

A judge in Upper Marlboro, Md., has vacated a $1.5-million judgment awarded to a woman who filed a defamation suit against rapper DMX after he alleged that she raped him. Prince George's County Circuit Judge Thomas Smith ruled last week that DMX (real name: Earl Simmons) was not properly served with court papers in the case filed against him by Monique Wayne. Wayne became pregnant after an August 2003 encounter with Simmons. She gave birth in April 2004, and DNA tests showed it was Simmons' son. But in a 2006 magazine interview, Simmons, without referring to Wayne by name, said she "raped" him while he slept.

Can a convicted child molester successfully sue someone for damaging his reputation? That is the overriding issue in a lawsuit filed by political consultant Timothy M. Carey of Torrance against former state controller candidate William Snow Hume of Fullerton.

A federal judge's dismissal of a case against the American Broadcasting Co. and television reporter Geraldo Rivera has been called a breakthrough for the use of secret recording devices by reporters. U.S. District Judge Alice Bachelder ruled Thursday that reporters may use secret recording devices to record events and conversations as long as the reporters use the recording equipment for the purpose of gathering news.

It's a lurid story, perfect for tabloids and talk shows: Famous athlete allegedly has affair with famous singer. When the athlete is Roger Clemens, who has filed a defamation suit to protect his "good reputation" and accused his former trainer of lying by claiming he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone, this question could increase the lurid quotient: Would the singer, Mindy McCready, take the witness stand in his trial?

A mobile home park company controlled by Sam Zell, chief executive of Tribune Co., is locked in a defamation lawsuit against a San Diego County supervisor who accused the company of rent-gouging elderly tenants and lying about making repairs. The dispute began in 2002 when Supervisor Dianne Jacob made comments about the company to tenants and reporters, and to Zell in a letter. The company, Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc.