Seinfeld Calls Author 'Wacko'--Not That There's Anything Wrong With It

Image via WikipediaCookbook author Missy Chase Lapine has yet to come up with a recipe for beating a Seinfeld in court.

New York Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman last week tossed a defamation suit, Missy Chase Lapine v. Jerry Seinfeld & HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. (Index No. 150051/2010), precipitated by the comic's remarks in 2007 on The David Letterman Show and E! News that the plaintiff, whom Seinfeld didn't specifically identify, was "wacko" and "if you read history, many of the three-named people become assassins." Judge Friedman said Seinfeld's comments were not defamatory as a matter of law as they constituted statements of opinion, which by their nature, are neither true nor false. Judge Friedman said the statements were not presented as factual or intended to be taken literally.

Lapine previously struck out in litigation against Seinfeld and his wife, Jessica, whom she unsuccessfully sued for copyright infringement over a cookbook in Missy Chase Lapine a/k/a The Sneaky Chef  v. Jessica Seinfeld et al (Case No. 09-4423-cv; U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit). [See "TUOL" post 5/6/10.] 

Lapine may be a wizard in the kitchen, but she is not the Master of Her Domain in the courtroom.