J-Lo sues National Enquirer
2007-04-18 09:33
Dublin - Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez
and her salsa star husband Marc Anthony launched a chain of
European libel actions on Tuesday against US celebrity
magazine the National Enquirer over drug scandal allegations.
Belfast-based lawyer Paul Tweed, who specialises in fighting
US libel cases in European courts, said he had filed a lawsuit
with the Belfast High Court on Tuesday and a writ of summons
would arrive at the magazine's New York headquarters shortly.
"We will now make similar applications in Dublin, London and
other jurisdictions," he told Reuters.
Lopez and Anthony were seeking "substantial damages", a full
retraction and an apology over an Enquirer article last month
that alleged the couple were linked to a drug scandal after
Anthony was pictured with a photographer later charged with
heroin possession.
Virtually impossible to sue for libel in US
The story was "totally unfounded", said Tweed, who last year
won an apology from the Enquirer for singer Britney Spears over
an article claiming she was about to divorce her husband.
Richard Valvo, a spokesperson for the National Enquirer, said
the company had no comment to make on Tuesday.
Tweed said US-based celebrities were increasingly pursuing
libel claims in European courts.
"It's virtually impossible to sue for libel in the United
States because of First Amendment protections," he said.
"But these publications are now appearing in Ireland, the UK
and France, and on the internet, and they're now subject to the
libel laws of these jurisdictions."
Reputation to protect
He pointed out that the option only really applied to
internationally known stars who could prove they had a
reputation to protect.
In most cases defendants opted to settle out of court rather
than risk paying damages in numerous jurisdictions, he said,
adding that if the Enquirer chose to fight, the case was likely
to take between 9 and 15 months.
Tweed, a libel lawyer for 30 years, has previously taken
cases for Irish actor Liam Neeson, singer Whitney Houston and
US film producer Steve Bing.
Lopez, who has successfully combined musical and screen
careers, married New York-born singer Anthony - the
biggest-selling salsa artist of all time - in 2004.