Tabloid Ordered to Disclose Sources
A Superior Court judge ordered a supermarket tabloid to disclose the identity of two confidential sources in a story that reported Arnold Schwarzenegger had a “heart crisis.”
After the August 1998 story appeared in the Globe, Schwarzenegger filed a $50-million libel suit against the tabloid.
“The article is a complete and utter fabrication and fiction,” according to the lawsuit.
The Globe stood by its story, which claimed, among other things, that doctors warn that Schwarzenegger has “a ticking time bomb in his chest.” The story quoted anonymous sources.
Judge Patricia L. Collins said Wednesday that “the identity of the confidential sources attributed to the allegedly libelous quotes go to the heart of the action . . . the plaintiff has made a prima facie showing of the falsity of the statements.”
The court has stayed enforcement of its order until Sept. 15 to give the Globe’s lawyers time to appeal the decision.
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