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

The Bald Truth has learned Howard K. Stern’s pitbull lawyer is scheduled to take Rita Cosby’s deposition Thursday in New York City. AND, Lin Wood confirms, it will all be caught on court-approved videotape.

If anyone wonders why Wood got the green light from a federal judge to put the ex-MSNBCer under oath so quickly after filing a $60 million libel suit against her, all you have to do is read transcripts from the Oct. 18 hearing on Nannygate, obtained exclusively by The Bald Truth, and you will understand the concerns of U.S. District Judge D. J. Chin. Read the rest of this entry »

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

In another world wide web exclusive, The Bald Truth has obtained the first round of fiery motions in the $60 million libel suit suit Howard K. Stern filed against author Rita Cosby and her publisher over salacious gay sex charges in her book about Anna Nicole Smith, “Blonde Ambition.”

Stern has accused Cosby of trying to “influence the testimony of two witnesses in this case,” nannies who worked for the late Playboy centerfold, and cites his fears other witnesses may be tampered with unless depositions are taken fast. But the author’s lawyer dismisses the need for speedy discovery.

It’s all in motions filed last week in New York’s U.S. District Court (hot links on next page) and obtained exclusively by The Bald Truth.

In her opposition, respected attorney Elizabeth McNamara argues Stern “fails to articulate good cause for this court to deviate from” standard rules of discovery, thus no need for speed.

But Stern’s aggressive lawyer, Lin Wood, in a motion filed Friday, insists audiotapes made of Cosby discussing payments to the nannies offer “good cause for … limited expedited discovery” of her “attempts to interfere with potential witnesses” in the libel case. Read the rest of this entry »

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

We’ve obtained, in another Bald Truth Exclusive, motions filed by Debra Opri against Larry Birkhead that lay out her strategy in court today, when she’s expected to ask the judge to take back what he already granted her–a speedy court date–and to reconsider her plea for arbitration, not hammering out her fee deal at some nasty trial.

Also, the second motion has Birkhead’s interrogatories attached, along with admissions, production of documents and deposition. We’re betting Birkhead attorney Michael Trope has a few tricks up his sleeve, and will keep you posted how he responds.

Opri’s moves are, as usual, as fascinating as a filibuster, and sketched out in our court docs below. Read on and let us know what you think.

More to come.

ah-opri-opri-motio-reconsideration-9-14.pdf

opr-motion-protective-9-26-07-ah.pdf

By Bald Truth Staff (c)www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

In a Bald Truth exclusive, we’ve learned the powerhouse New York law firm defending Rita Cosby’s publisher in a $60 million libel suit today won a brief extension to respond to Howard K. Stern’s request for an order banning Cosby, or anyone else, from trying to influence any witness or tamper with any evidence.

It must have been the eloquent, Oct. 22nd letter from attorney Doug Maynard, a former federal prosecutor now with Akin Gump– and obtained by The Bald Truth cosby-publisher-10-23-ltr-to-judge.pdf — that persuaded U.S. District Judge Denny Chin to grant the defendants’ lawyers until November 13 to respond to Stern’s complaint. In it, Maynard complains Stern lawyer Lin Wood has been kind of like Waldo, MIA and impossible to reach.

Hey, we totally understand, since Wood hasn’t had time to call us back either. We hope it’s nothing personal.

But we DO know he was in court last Thursday when the judge indicated he was troubled by transcripts of Cosby allegedly trying to pay two Haitian nannies for an affidavit. Read the rest of this entry »