ANNA NICOLE SMITH - JUDGE: 'STERN BOOK CLAIMS ARE PREPOSTEROUS'

JUDGE: 'STERN BOOK CLAIMS ARE PREPOSTEROUS'

A New York judge has backed ANNA NICOLE SMITH's lawyer-turned-lover HOWARD K. STERN in his legal action against a publishing company - branding allegations in a tell-all book about the star "preposterous".
Stern has filed suit against the Hachette Book Group and TV reporter-turned-writer Rita Cosby, accusing them of libel over a string of accusations made against him in Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death.
The book about the late star makes a series of claims about Stern's sexuality, alleging Smith possessed a sex tape featuring Stern and her boyfriend Larry Birkhead. Stern insists the footage doesn't exist.
And Judge Denny Chin, who is overseeing the case at Manhattan Federal Court, backed Stern in a hearing on Tuesday (07Jul09), telling the court, "One of the parts I find troubling is the story that Anna Nicole Smith used to entertain herself by watching this supposed video. I mean, on the face of it, the story seems preposterous. And the sources are questionable."
The $60 million (£41 million) suit asks for compensatory and punitive damages, according to the New York Daily News.