Perez Hilton Wins $85,000 from Lindsay Lohan's Friend
Thu Jan 24, 2008 @ 10:31AM PSTPosted by Eriq Gardner
A Los Angeles judge has awarded Perez Hilton $85,000 in legal costs after the celebrity blogger successfully defended a libel lawsuit brought by Samantha Ronson, a friend of Lindsay Lohan.
In November, the court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Ronson accusing Hilton of saying she planted cocaine in Lohan's Mercedes. Interestingly, the court seemed to agree with the contention that being a friend of a celebrity makes one a "public figure" and thus subject to a much higher threshhold for defamation claims.
Hilton's anti-SLAPP motion was granted, and yesterday, Ronson was ordered to pay up. Ronson's attorney, David M. Bass, unsuccessfully argued that legal fees should be held to no more than $13,400.
Hilton shouldn't celebrate legal victory just yet. He still has those copyright issues with paparazzi agencies to deal with.