Kaelin Wins Round in Tabloid Lawsuit
Brian “Kato” Kaelin won a court skirmish with the National Examiner on Monday in his libel suit over a headline that read: “Cops Think Kato Did It.”
U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian Jr. rejected the National Examiner’s argument that the article could not be considered malicious--making the tabloid subject to possible punitive damages--because it was screened and approved by the publication’s lawyer.
“Simply because an attorney approves of it doesn’t mean that actual malice doesn’t exist,” Tevrizian said.
The “it” mentioned in the headline apparently had nothing to do with the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, but rather with suspicions that Kaelin was not forthcoming on the witness stand in the O.J. Simpson trial.
Tevrizian originally dismissed Kaelin’s lawsuit, but a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel reinstated it, declaring in a landmark ruling earlier this year that a headline alone can be grounds for libel action.
Kaelin is seeking $15 million in damages. The trial is set for Nov. 30.
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