LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan O’Neal may have enough evidence to show that he was defamed by a man who claimed the actor stole a valuable portrait of the late Farrah Fawcett, an appeals court ruled Thursday.
A divided panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that O’Neal’s case against Craig Nevius, a former Fawcett associate, should be allowed to proceed and that the actor may be able to win some damages. One justice disagreed and wrote that the case should be dismissed.
O’Neal sued in July 2011, claiming he was defamed by Nevius’ comments that the actor had stolen a Fawcett portrait created by Andy Warhol. The painting is the subject of a separate lawsuit between O’Neal and the University of Texas, which claims Fawcett left the artwork to the school after her 2009 death.
Nevius’ attorney, Lincoln Bandlow, said he would appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court. He had appealed a lower court’s ruling allowing the case to go forward.
O’Neal’s suit seeks more than $1 million in damages. He claimed in the case that Warhol gave him the portrait and he intends to bequeath it to his only son from his longtime relationship with Fawcett, Redmond O’Neal.
Nevius’ comments that O’Neal stole the artwork were made in interviews with Star magazine and “Good Morning America,” and he cooperated with UT investigators searching for the portrait.
O’Neal’s fight with UT over the portrait returns to court Feb. 27.
- Posted February 18, 2013
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
O'Neal wins appeals ruling in defamation case
headlines Detroit
- Innocence Clinic helps exonerate man more than 22 years after wrongful murder conviction
- GOP nominated Supreme Court candidates behind in funding, but hope a message of change can secure victory
- NCSC and partners equip courts to recover from cyber-attacks and disasters
- Detroit murder conviction overturned 22 years later because of police misconduct
- Daily Briefs
headlines National
- Unbeknownst to corporate lawyer, scammers used her name to file thousands of trademark applications
- Judge accuses high-profile law firms of possible effort to ‘gum up the works’
- Lawyer accused of ‘egregious acts of dishonesty,’ gambling with client cash gets disbarred
- Ex-BigLaw partner hit with prison time, $4.2M restitution order in tax case
- Artificial intelligence in the legal field ‘will lead to an exciting evolution in the ecosystem,’ Airia CEO says
- Florida lawyer says she used trust account funds to avoid becoming homeless