Recently in Defamation (Libel / Slander) Category

CBS News reported that Danielle Staub, a cast member of the hit reality television series "Real Housewives of New Jersey," is trying to have her ex-husband's $5 million defamation lawsuit thrown out of court.

The lawsuit, brought by ex-husband Kevin Maher, claims that Danielle Staub fabricated much of her "The Naked Truth" memoir in which he was described as a cruel and abusive husband. She said everything she wrote is, as the title suggests, the absolute truth.

As any New York personal injury lawyer would tell you, the best defense to a defamation charge is the truth. According to TMZ, though, Kevin Maher's suit also claims she accused him of killing her dog, forcing her to play Russian Roulette and raping her on a bed covered in broken glass; she says she never said those things, which means they must not be in her book.

Everyone knows who Madonna, Beyonce and Oprah are without uttering their last names, but what about Lindsay? That question lies at the heart of actress Lindsay Lohan's defamation lawsuit against E-Trade alleging they used her likeness in a television commercial, according to a Reuters article. 

E-Trade's legal team is trying to sway a New York judge to dismiss the case, but her New York personal injury lawyer recently filed her own papers in an attempt to block the motion. 

Lindsay Lohan filed suit in response to an advertisement in which one baby refers to another baby named Lindsay who is a "milkaholic" and a "bimbus." The actress believes it was a sly attack on her, given the star's own struggles with substance abuse.

An appeals court in Argentina ruled in favor of Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. in a case claiming the companies were liable for including sex-related Web sites in the search results for Argentinean celebrity Virginia Da Cunha, The New York Times reported.

Although a New York personal injury lawyer could explain how defamation is handled by the courts works in this country, the law likely varies somewhat in Argentina.

The lower court found the two Internet search companies liable for defaming Virginia Da Cunha and ordered them to pay damages and remove the disputed sites from their indexes. But the 2-1 appeals court ruling said Yahoo and Google could be held liable for defaming the entertainer only if they knew about the illegal content and did nothing to remove it.

While posting a message that a classmate has contracted AIDS, has sex with animals, and has turned into the devil certainly can be considered a form of "cyberbullying," a New York judge ruled that it is not defamation, according to a MediaPost article.

Judge Randy Sue Marber dismissed a lawsuit against four teenagers who were accused of defamation when they made those comments about classmate Denise Finkel:

"The entire context and tone of the posts constitute evidence of adolescent insecurities and indulgences, and a vulgar attempt at humor. What they do not contain are statements of fact."

Former U.S. Dept. of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod's defamation suit against right-wing political blogger Andrew Breitbart for defamation just might stick in court, legal experts told journalism watchdog group Media Matters. New York Personal injury lawyers may agree with Los Angeles attorney Deborah Drooz, who said the former USDA employee "most certainly" has a strong case:

"What Mr. Breitbart did was to create the false appearance that Ms. Sherrod was a racist. He used that to further his conservative agenda. He deprived the viewer of the ability to decide for himself what Ms. Sherrod said."

It seems like the producers of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" really lucked out with a cast that seems to be generating more drama off the screen than on. The latest is the defamation suit brought against former cast member Danielle Staub by Stephen Zalewski, according to Babble.com.

The plaintiff claims Danielle Staub ruined his reputation by claiming on an episode of "Real Housewives" that he filmed a sex tape of the couple without her consent. He claims that's absolutely false and that she even filmed part of it herself.

Although the defamation suit brought by former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens against former trainer Brian McNamee was tossed out after being filed two-and-a-half years ago, the New York Daily News reported that he is trying to revive the suit once more.

It would be interesting to see how many New York personal injury lawyers agree with Brian McNamee's attorney, Richard Emery, who insists judges "would have to make mincemeat of current law" in order to prevail. 

William "Billy" Sammeth, the former manager for comedian Joan Rivers, has sued her for more than $2 million, according to Yahoo News. He said the comedian still owes him unpaid commissions and claims she defamed him in a recent documentary film about her life as a comic.

William Sammeth's New York personal injury lawyer was not cited or quoted in the article, although the attorney no doubt is playing hardball.

His lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, lists several works for which he believes he is entitled a 10 percent cut, totaling roughly $200,000. On top of that, he is seeking at least $2 million in exemplary and punitive damages.

Huffington Post reporter Daniel Grant wrote a piece about the risk of being sued for defamation by criticizing your art dealer, even if it's clear the dealer sold you a fake or otherwise ripped you off.

Granted, most people are not wealthy enough to regularly purchase fine works of art; but the same could probably be said about online criticism of businesses and professionals in general. Unless you have proof, posting potentially harmful criticism can lead to a costly lawsuit.

This is a new development to the Lindsay Lohan- E*Trade saga.

Lindsay Lohan has been blasted in the answer to her complaint filed against E*Trade.

The E*Trade baby has spoken, again!