SHORT TAKES : Newman ‘Confident’ on Lawsuit

Actor Paul Newman and his partners are “more confident than ever” heading into a second trial of a suit by a Westport deli owner who wants a cut of Newman’s food business, Newman’s lawyer said today.

The Academy Award-winning actor, who testified at the first trial, will take the stand in the second proceeding, said his attorney, W. Patrick Ryan.

Jury selection was to begin today in the Superior Court rematch between Newman and Julius Gold, who claims that he helped the actor develop his Newman’s Own salad dressing and other food products.

The first trial, which drew hordes of media, ended in a mistrial in July, 1988.

Gold, who has said he intended to pursue the case to the end, claimed that Newman and his partners, writer A. E. Hotchner and food broker David Kalman, reneged on verbal promises to give him a share of the profits and stock in the company to help develop and market the food products.

Newman, who lives in Westport, has denied Gold’s claims, saying he developed the salad dressing in his home and then decided to sell it with the profits going to charity.

The company, which also sells popcorn, lemonade and spaghetti sauce, has donated more than $26 million to charity since it was founded in 1982, officers said.