A judge has refused to dismiss a malicious prosecution lawsuit filed against game show host Bob Barker by a former model on "The Price Is Right."
Holly Hallstrom sued Barker and his attorneys Sept. 29, shortly after Barker dropped his five-year libel lawsuit against her.
On Friday, Judge Aurelio Munoz rejected a claim by Barker's attorneys that Hallstrom's legal action amounts to a SLAPP suit. The acronym stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
In his ruling, Munoz wrote the case is not covered by the state SLAPP statute because it does not involve any overriding social or political issues.
Barker spokesman Henri Bollinger said his client disagreed with the ruling. Court papers filed by the defendants claim the malicious prosecution lawsuit was brought to stifle their right to free speech. An attorney for Hallstrom claims Barker destroyed his client's life when he sued her for libel in 1995. That suit came after Hallstrom alleged that she had been fired from the show after 19 years because she had become too old and too fat. Hallstrom responded to Barker's suit with a wrongful termination action naming him and the show's producers. Superior Court Judge Paul Gutman dismissed that action in August, ruling there was insufficient evidence to prove her claim. Barker then dropped his libel lawsuit.<
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delynsimons said:
CA Is Burning said:
NOTHING the government will do will alleviate traffic. This is simply a way to line the pockets of the unions and our government officials.
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