Seinfeld's lawyers ask judge to throw out lawsuit
NEW YORK (AP) -February 26, 2008 In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, attorneys for
the former sitcom star asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed
by Missy Chase Lapine against Seinfeld and his wife, the Daily News
reported in Tuesday editions.
"Jerry Seinfeld made overstatements of opinion for comic
effect," the comedian's lawyers said in the filing.
Lapine is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages
for copyright and trademark infringement, and made slander and
defamation claims.
Lapine, the author of "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for
Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals," accused Seinfeld's
wife of plagiarizing her cookbook. Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively
Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food" was
published in October; Lapine's book was published in April.
Lawyers for the Seinfelds dismissed the plagiarism allegations
in the court filing, saying, "The idea of sneaking healthy foods
into a child's diet is not original to your author."
Lapine also contended in her lawsuit that Jerry Seinfeld, while
making a promotional stop on CBS' "Late Show With David
Letterman," suggested she was a crackpot by comparing her to the
killers of Lennon and King.