Pardalis & Nohavicka Defamation Law Update: Cassini $10 Million Suit Against Vanity Fair Dismissed

Vanity Fair put out an article ("Cassini Royale") reporting the  secret marriage of the late designer, Oleg Cassini, to Marianne Nestor Cassini.  The article stated that that Marianne and her sisters used to throw parties in the 1960s that were attended by many wealthy "older guys looking for action." The widow sued Vanity Fair for defamation under the theory that the quoted material implied that Marianne was a prostitute and lacked sexual morals. The appellate court ruled that a reasonable reader would not conclude that Marianne was a prostitute or otherwise unchaste, nor were the statements so extreme and outrageous that they would support an action for infliction of emotional distress.  VF is off the hook. Case dismissed.

Cassini v Advance Publs., Inc.
http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2015/2015_01171.htm