Local News in Brief : More Sought From Hefner
The former girlfriend of Playboy magazine Publisher Hugh Hefner on Wednesday amended her palimony suit against Hefner by boosting the alleged damages from $5 million to $35 million.
Of that total, Carrie Leigh requests $20 million for punitive damages “to dissuade him (Hefner) from maintaining his long-enjoyed practice of seducing teen-age girls, supporting them for a few years and then discarding them.”
The amended complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by divorce lawyer Marvin Mitchelson, accuses Hefner of malice by allegedly promising to support Leigh in return for her giving up a modeling career, acting as “his wife” on social occasions and maintaining an “aura of grandeur” in weekend entertaining at his Holmby Hills Playboy mansion.
It also seeks $15 million in general damages, up by $10 million from the original suit, for alleged promises of jewelry, clothing and annual support.
Hefner, 61, broke up with Leigh, 24, a former Canadian model, in January after a nearly five-year relationship.
A lawyer for Hefner said the allegations are unfounded and called Wednesday’s action “an effort to generate additional, unending publicity.”
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