Taylor Ordered to Pay Tabloid’s Legal Costs

Elizabeth Taylor and ex-husband Larry Fortensky were ordered to pay $432,600 in legal costs to the National Enquirer for a failed court battle alleging that their reputations were damaged by an article in the tabloid.

But Taylor’s attorney, Neil Papiano, said he will appeal the amount of the legal costs.

“The amount is excessive,” Papiano said. “It’s only a temporary victory.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Fumiko Wasserman made the ruling Nov. 5 but attorneys for both sides were not informed until the end of last week, National Enquirer editor Steve Coz said Monday.

Although a state appeals court had previously ruled that “the Enquirer article is not actionable,” it added that the Enquirer “did not cover [itself] with glory in reporting on the underlying proceeding. If this article is representative of the caliber of the Enquirer’s reporting, the public is well advised to view the Enquirer’s contents with skepticism.”

The National Enquirer reported the couple’s involvement in a property dispute in March 1993. Taylor and Fortensky, who were married at the time, sued. They charged that the article damaged their reputations and invaded their privacy.

The couple lost the suit against the tabloid, which then sought attorney fees and costs for its three-year fight.

If the ruling is upheld, Coz said, the $432,600 will be donated to the Arthritis Foundation, the American Heart Assn. and Haven House, a battered women’s shelter.