NEW YORK — A New York City judge says a jury can decide whether the author of a best-selling book about the death of Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith defamed her lawyer by calling him a pimp.
Federal Judge Denny Chin found plenty of reasons Wednesday to let the jury hear a $60 million libel lawsuit brought by lawyer Howard K. Stern against “Blonde Ambition” author Rita Cosby.
The judge says the veteran television news anchor’s book contains allegations that may be too outlandish to be true, such as claims the lawyer had sex with one of Smith’s former boyfriends and acted as her pimp. Cosby lawyer Elizabeth A. McNamara says she’s confident a jury will dismiss many parts of the case after hearing the evidence. Smith was found dead in a hotel room from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in 2007. The Associated Press
