Sinatra Wins Health Clinic Case

A federal appeals court today upheld a $450,000 judgment in favor of Frank Sinatra against a Swiss health clinic that concocted a false story for the National Enquirer that the singer was a client.

Sinatra was the subject of an Oct. 23, 1984, cover story by the tabloid which stated falsely that he was admitted to the clinic for youth regeneration. The article maintained that Sinatra was given injections of “live cells from black sheep fetuses.” The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by the Clinic La Prairie in Montreux, Switzerland, that the federal court in California had no jurisdiction over the suit because the clinic did not conduct business in California. The National Enquirer settled the libel claim by Sinatra separately and out of court, according to the ruling.