Replies

Larry Birkhead’s ex-lawyer sues him for defamation in LA

http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/244546.html

Larry Birkhead’s ex-lawyer has filed suit, claiming Birkhead attempted to damage her reputation by making defamatory remarks.

Debra Opri’s lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Birkhead of falsely claiming in a CNN interview with Larry King that she was a source for “Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death.”

The book, by journalist Rita Cosby, claims Birkhead, the father of Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn, worked with Howard K. Stern, Smith’s lawyer and sometime boyfriend, to manipulate the media and maximize profits after Smith died.

Opri denies providing information to Cosby. She contends his remarks were “planned and malicious.”

Birkhead’s attorney, Michael Trope, said Tuesday he had not seen the lawsuit, but added that “the truth is a defense.”

“What Larry (Birkhead) said about her on the Larry King show is true,” he said.

The lawsuit claims defamation, fraud and other allegations, and seeks damages, including about $200,000 Opri says she spent to hire a crisis management firm to “salvage” her reputation.

Birkhead and Opri also are locked in a separate court battle over legal bills from the Smith paternity case.

In December, a Los Angeles judge ruled in Birkhead’s favor in the paternity case and a DNA test later revealed that he was the father of Smith’s daughter.