Condit sues Dunne for slander By TOM HAYS Associated Press Writer December 16, 2002, 8:14 PM EST NEW YORK -- Former Rep. Gary Condit sued Dominick Dunne for $11 million on Monday, claiming the author slandered him in interviews about the Chandra Levy case. Dunne "made false and defamatory statements accusing (Condit) of involvement in the crimes of kidnapping and murder," said the lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan. The suit cited radio, television and newspaper interviews in which Dunne linked Condit to the disappearance of Levy. Dunne described receiving a mysterious tip that Levy's killers were associates of a prostitution ring serving Arab embassies where Condit was a frequent guest, and that her body was dumped into the ocean from an airplane, suit said. "I can't authenticate all of this," Dunne said on CNN's "Larry King Live" in February. "But (the source) said she was essentially kidnapped, that she was drugged. She was taken in a limousine. She was put on a plane." After Levy's remains were found in May in Rock Creek Park in Washington, Dunne was quoted in a newspaper article saying the tip turned out to be a hoax. But he still cast suspicion on Condit, the suit said. "I don't think he killed her," Dunne allegedly said. "I think he could have known it was going to happen." The California Democrat reportedly told investigators he was having an affair with Levy, a former intern at the Bureau of Prisons. But he denied any involvement in her disappearance, and police never named him as a suspect. Dunne "transformed an allegation of sexual misconduct into criminal accusations," said Condit's attorney, L. Lin Wood. Condit, who lost re-election earlier this year, decided "he would not tolerate these kinds of accusations," Wood said. He added his client planned to file similar suits against other defendants. A call to Dunne was not immediately returned. Dunne, who has written about the high-profile trials of O.J. Simpson and Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, is a frequent commentator about the legal troubles of the rich and famous. He writes a column for Vanity Fair magazine and hosts his own series on Court TV. Because of Dunne's comments, Condit "has suffered emotional distress and mental pain," along with "permanent impairment to his ability to obtain or maintain gainful employment," the suit said. He seeks at least $1 million in compensatory and $10 million in punitive damages.
Maybe, just maybe, Condit can't get a job because he was exposed for sleeping around with young interns and then trying to cover it up. The "lawyer for the damned" must be getting goosebumps all over his body at the prospect of all the new nuisance lawsuits to be settled out of court.
L. Lin Wood Lawyer for the sleazy. Condit should try to let the whole disgusting mess he made for himself quietly fade away instead of dragging this stuff up. I'd almost forgotten his ridiculous hair-do and his lying lips. I guess Wood thinks he is a white knight protecting these peoples' honor but they would need some honor in the first place to qualify him for that role.
Just when you think someone could not get any slimier it happens. I feel like getting a petition together and sending it to Dunne stating that we all thought Condit was involved because of HIS ACTIONS LONG BEFORE DUNNE SAID A WORD. I am beyond stunned.
Yeppers..... I would say he could easily get "Creep of the Decade." Wonder what the Ramsey's are going to do without Woody's undivided attention?
Tez, I wondered that, too.... Lin has milked Patsy for all she's worth. When one cow dries up, it's on to the next. Lin Wood is fond of cattle, isn't he?
What A Pair! Great Idea Tricia .... I absolutely adore Dominik Dunne. And everyone thinks Gary's guilty of something. Bout time Woody met a mirror-image of himself. Can you just picture Condit and Woody trying to blow dry their hair together. Yuk, Yuk, what a pair of sleaze balls. Jeffrey Toobin says there's likely no chance for Condit to win anything. Regards, Mandarin
I love him too, Mandarin! He's a great writer and always tells it like it is. I saw him on TV a while back and he made a remark about the Ramseys, but then said he didn't want their libel lawyer coming after him! It was a prophecy. Whatever happened to Free Speech?
Lin Beating the Bushes Condit hunting for libel lawsuits November 1, 2002 Posted: 05:20:21 AM PST By MICHAEL DOYLE BEE WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Ceres Rep. Gary Condit has a new attorney scouring the media on the lookout for material that could be the basis for libel lawsuits. This week, Atlanta-based attorney L. Lin Wood kicked up his search to include a tabloid newspaper company's new book about Condit and Modesto's Chandra Levy. Previously, Wood has secured some high-profile defamation settlements. Now he sees potential targets in the Condit coverage that followed Levy's disappearance in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 2001. Authorities interviewed Condit four times and he eventually stopped denying published reports that he had had an affair with Levy. The former federal intern's remains were found in a District of Columbia park in May 2002; no one has been arrested. "I'm looking at the entire range of articles and broadcasts," Wood said Thursday. "Certainly, I am looking at some more than others." ---snip--- Like its sister publications the Globe and the Star, the National Enquirer spent considerable resources and floated various theories while tracking the Condit story last year. "The tabloids are clearly a target," Wood said, "and this book will be carefully looked at." Wood said he also would be examining closely the printed and broadcast words of author Dominick Dunne. Dunne used his Vanity Fair magazine perch and cable television appearances to propound certain exotic notions -- involving a Middle Eastern sex slave ring -- about Levy's disappearance. "This is a great, great story," Dunne said on CNN last year. "A terrible tragedy for Chandra's family, but I mean, this will be a great book. This is an amazing story." The tabloid publishers, so far, have stood by their work as legally defensible reporting on a public figure. "It is all run by our lawyers," Valerie Virga, president of the company that published the Condit book, said Monday. ---snip--- As a public figure, Condit faces a particularly high hurdle in filing any libel lawsuit: The U.S. Supreme Court has said public figures must prove publication of false material, and show it was published knowingly or with "reckless disregard" for whether the material was true or false. That is meant to allow free and uninhibited public debate without fear of inadvertent error, according to the court. "That is a very difficult burden for anyone to overcome," Wood said, "but it is not insurmountable." ---snip---
