[adrotate group=”9″]
David Beckham’s libel lawsuit against In Touch Weekly magazine owner Bauer Publishing has been dismissed by US District Judge Manuel Real.
Beckham initiated the suit after the periodical claimed, in an article published in September of 2010, that Beckham had committed acts of infidelity with a prostitute called Irma Nici in 2007.
The judge ruled that the Los Angeles Galaxy star’s lawyer, Richard Kendall, failed to demonstrate that the editors of the magazine published the story with malice. Judge Real added that Beckham is a public figure and that allegations of infidelity would be of interest to the public.
Regarding the decision, Beckham’s spokesperson said: “Any knowledgeable person knows this story not to be true, we will continue to fight this in court and the decision will be appealed.” Beckham’s lawyer concurred that they will be appealing the dismissal ruling.
Elizabeth McNamara, a lawyer representing Bauer Publishing, argued to the court that the magazine editors did “everything possible” to corroborate details of the alleged affair and said the judge made the appropriate decision.
Obviously, very few people know the absolute truth about David’s fidelity, but David’s willingness to legally persecute his accusers will certainly cause any journalist trepidation when publishing controversial stories about him in future. No matter what the courts decide, his power play scored.
[adrotate group=”8″]
