Anna Nicole Smith book author sued for $68m

Stern, Smith’s lawyer and companion, filed the libel lawsuit in New York yesterday against Rita Cosby and her publisher Hatchette Book Group USA over the book – Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death.

The suit seeks $US10 million in compensatory damages and $US50 million in punitive damages.

The book, published last month, claimed that besides having a sexual encounter, Birkhead and Stern worked together after Smith’s death to manipulate the media and maximise profits.

Stern’s suit says the book falsely accuses him of, among other things, criminal lewd acts, homosexual acts, illegal possession and use of cocaine, conspiring to commit murder and kidnapping for ransom, the Associated Press reported.

"Defendants have exploited Ms Smith’s life and death by publishing false and defamatory factual accusations against Stern," according to the 65-page lawsuit filed by Atlanta lawyer Lin Wood.

Wood said yesterday that Cosby and her publisher "made a conscious decision to smear the personal and professional reputation" of Stern for financial gain.

A spokesman for Cosby declined to comment and a spokesman for the publisher could not be reached for comment.

Birkhead, the father of Smith’s infant daughter Dannielynn, and Stern, Smith’s longtime lawyer and companion, had threatened to sue soon after the book was published.

The lawsuit lists only Stern as a plaintiff.

A lawyer for Birkhead told the AP "it’s just a matter of time" before he filed a libel suit of his own.

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