MIAMI (Reuters) - Rights to O.J. Simpson’s hypothetical book “If I Did It” passed to relatives of murder victim Ron Goldman on Monday as a federal judge approved their settlement with a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee.

Lawyers for the Goldmans said they would seek to capitalize on the book by arranging new publishing, film or TV deals to help satisfy a $33.5 million wrongful death judgment won by the family against Simpson in 1997. Read the rest of this entry »

By Art Harris © www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

Monday, we expect a face off in Miami federal bankruptcy court over the fate of O.J. Simpson’s murder confession best seller that’s yet to be sold. July 30 was the date set by the judge for the parties to return to argue who gets how much if the book is marketable at all.

In one corner: watch for the family of Ron Goldman, the LA waiter Simpson brutally stabbed to death, consumed with rage and jealousy after spying the handsome young man driving the Ferrari he’d bought his ex-wife, Nicole; she had romantic candles lit that night…. In the other corner, I expect Nicole Brown Simpson’s family, recently angling for a piece of the $38 million civil settlement once solely awarded the Goldman’s. Read the rest of this entry »

LR: Art Harris, Debra Opri, Court TV’s Jean Casares: Opri courts airtime outside Broward County Courthouse. Photo property of art harris, (c) www.artharris.com.

By Art Harris, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

We hear the Los Angeles Times has unleashed powerhouse reporter Rachel Abramowitz to do an unflinching profile of lawyer Debra Opri, who quit or was fired, depending on who you believe. It could hit the web as soon as Saturday.

“They’re looking for dirt and to make me a media whore, and I don’t appreciate it. But the truth will come out,” Opri told me in an exclusive chat. She’d just unleashed an e mail blast that declared she was “happy” that $600,000 in leftover media fees paid to Larry Birkhead will be frozen in her client trust account until the judge studies whether he owes her all that – or anything at all –to Opri. Larry was claiming victory as well.

Opri was calling from Los Angeles, and she was nervous.

“You know me, I’m not a crook,” she said. “I’m not a criminal.”

She was choking back tears, just like Birkhead who burst into tears when she handed him his legal bill in January, according to a yet-to-be made public affadavit I’ve obtained.

Click on a Debra scrapbook memory…art-debra-jean-casares.jpg
Read the rest of this entry »

By MARY FLOOD
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Houston plaintiff lawyer John O’Quinn has been ordered to refund at least $35.7 million to more than 3,000 former breast implant litigation clients, according to an arbitration panel decision released today.

With interest and attorneys’ fees, O’Quinn could owe almost $60 million.

O’Quinn called the decision “unfair” and “illogical” given that even the panel also acknowledged he did a good job for these women.

“I didn’t cheat anybody,” O’Quinn said. “We got people record results and charged the least expenses of any law firm in town.” Read the rest of this entry »

We want to thank the Humane Society of the United States for their package, and tireless work to put thugs out of business who get off in some twisted way by turning gentle animals into killing machines. — Art Harris

By Art Harris, (c), www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

In a flurry of motions filed in federal court in Florida, Texas lawyer John O’Quinn, who represented Anna Nicole Smith’s mother, asked that Howard K. Stern’s defamation suit against him be dismissed on grounds ranging from improper jurisdiction to legal immunity rooted in his standing as an officer of the court.

Stern endured numerous rounds of talk shows featuring O’Quinn, Virgie Arthur, and others trashing him as suspect in the deaths of the Playboy centerfold and her son, Daniel, who both died of accidental drug overdoses.

As he bantered with talk show hosts, O’Quinn referred to Stern as a murderer–even after the Broward medical examiner and law enforcement reported no foul play in Anna Nicole’s accidental overdose at the Hardrock Hotel in Florida. He’s salted the motions we’ve posted below with talk show transcripts.

o-quinn-motion-dismiss-over-venue.pdf
oquinn-affadvit-to-dismiss-7-17.pdf

Read the rest of this entry »

By Art Harris, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

We’ve learned the coroner’s inquest judge into the death of Anna Nicole Smiths’ son, Daniel, Monday was booted off the case for yakking to the press about what might happen.

You remember Chief Magistrate Roger (Don’t Go There) Gomez. Well, his boss, Supreme Court Justice John Lyons, ruled Monday he’s toast after popping up on television in an interview that “departed from accepted judicial convention,” according to the Nassau Guardian, the island’s leading newspaper.

Lyons said he just happened to catch the controversial interview while channel surfing, sources tell me, and heard the lower court judge waxing on “about what about what was going to happen or might happen” in the case. Read the Associated Press report and an excellent piece by the Nassau Guardian’s Senior Reporter, Raymond Kongwa: Read the rest of this entry »

By Art Harris, (c), www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

The Bahamas Journal Tuesday confirmed our exclusive report that Howard K. Stern can move forward to ask the Bahamas Supreme Court to throw South Carolina developer G. Ben Thompson in jail for contempt of court if it’s proved he violated a court injunction.

As we reported in a worldwide web exclusive here and on ETonline last week, a court order we posted first says Thompson and his lawyer, Godrey Pro Pinder can be sued –and possibly fined, even jailed if convicted — for allegedly violating two court injunctions barring them from entering Horizons to attempt to evict Anna Nicole and her lawyer-turned estate executor and long-time companion.

Pinder has said he was merely acting on behalf of a client, and had obtained permission from a lower court to serve notice.

After Anna Nicole Smith had a brief fling with Thompson, he provided her with a $950,000 mansion. Whether payback was agreed on, the late reality star considered it a gift; GBT said she promised to pay when she could. Check out the Bahamas Journal: Read the rest of this entry »

Ford Shelley, G. Ben Thompson, Lawyer: We’ve Made Repeated Calls for Comments.

Howard K. Stern Bahamas Court Update

July 12, 2007 02:29 PM PDT

The Bahamas Supreme Court order allows Howard K. Stern to retaliate against those who have vilified him in the media as a “squatter.”
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ET has the latest on Howard K. Stern’s Bahamas court order.
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In a world wide web exclusive, ET Special Correspondent ART HARRIS has uncovered a Bahamas court order that allows HOWARD K. STERN to ask that the developer who has been trying to evict him from the the home he shared with ANNA NICOLE SMITH, Horizons, be jailed for trespassing and contempt.

The Bahamas Supreme Court order, posted on www.artharris.com, gives Stern the greenlight to retaliate against those who have vilified him in the media as a “squatter,” by suing South Carolina developer G. BEN THOMPSON, and his lawyer, GODFREY PRO PINDER, for going onto the Horizons property when court injunctions were in place protecting Smith against such intrusions. Read the rest of this entry »

By Art Harris, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

In a world wide web exclusive, The Bald Truth has uncovered a Bahamas court order that allows Howard K. Stern to ask that the developer who has been trying to evict him and Anna Nicole Smith from the disputed Horizons property be jailed for tresspassing and contempt.

The Bahamas Supreme Court order, posted here publically for the first time, gives Stern the greenlight to sue –and demand jail time for two figures who have vilified him in the media as a “squatter:” South Carolina developer G. Ben Thompson, and his lawyer, Godfrey Pro Pinder.

The howardcourtorder.pdf order cites “their joint and individual breaches” for allegedly going on Horizons property when court injunctions were in place protecting Smith against such intrusions.

Stern declined to comment; calls to Shelley, Pinder and Thompson’s lawyer, were not returned by press time, but we welcome their input.

At the time, Thompson was suing Anna Nicole, and later her estate, for title to the home he claims he sold her for $950,000, and she believed was a gift. Two judges issued injunctions banning anyone from entering the property to disturb the former reality TV star until the lawsuit over ownership was settled.

According to the order, signed June 19, Stern can apply for “an Order of Committal,” or contempt, against Thompson and Pinder for violating court orders issued Nov. 20, 2006, and Feb. 9, 2007, barring them or anyone from disturbing the residents.

One injunction was issued last fall when Thompson had the electricity cut off at Horizons; at the time, Anna Nicole’s baby, Dannielynn, was inside. Stern won a second injunction Feb. 9, the day after Smith died in Florida, after he learned Thompson son-in-law Ford Shelley went into the house to remove computers, dvds and other property. He told me he did it to make sure they didn’t fall into the wrong hands, “for safekeeping,” and later turned some of the items in to police.

Read our full report: Read the rest of this entry »