Sharon, doc settle suit
2005-11-16 08:09
Los Angeles - Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone has settled a lawsuit against a plastic surgeon whom she accused of jeopardising her career by falsely claiming he had given her a facelift, an attorney said on Tuesday.
The ice-blond beauty Stone, 47, filed suit against Beverly Hills surgeon Renato Calabria 11 months ago, alleging he told US Weekly and In Touch Weekly magazines that he did work on her face.
But, according to Calabrio's lawyer, the case has been settled out of court, avoiding a trial that could have resulted in a loss of face for either side.
"I can only tell you the case was settled," the surgeon's attorney Arthur Barens said, declining further comment.
Stone's lawyer Stephen Garcia did not immediately return calls to comment on the case.
But according to papers filed on Monday with Los Angeles superior court by Garcia, Stone's suit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning she cannot file another lawsuit against Calabria based on the same claims.
Negative publicity
The stunning United States actress had claimed in the suit that Calabria's alleged comments to reporters could damage her career.
US Weekly printed an article in an August 2004 issue, titled "Did Sharon Stone have surgery?" and In Touch ran a story the next month which quoted Calabria, though he refused to comment specifically on her in the article.
"Stone has never undergone a facelift in order to improve her physical appearance," the actress's suit stated.
It stated that Stone "prides herself not only on her acting ability and other talents, but also on her natural physical appearance".
She claimed that negative publicity about physical appearance "has a damaging impact on a film actress' professional reputation (and her) ability to obtain work in the film industry".
Stone had asked for general, special, actual and punitive damages and any profits Calabria received from the allegedly unauthorised use of her name, image and likeness.