Mar 3, 2008 10:44 pm US/Eastern
OJ'S Publisher Sued Over Legal Fees
NEW YORK (CBS4) ―
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O.J. Simpson Book Publishing Saga
AP
The controversy surrounding OJ Simpson's tell-all book "If I Did It" moved into a new arena Monday, as the woman behind the original effort to get the book published was sued by her former lawyers for some allegedly unpaid legal fees.
Judith Regan, who was fired when the controversy over the South Florida resident's book about his theory behind the murders of his ex-wife and her friend, Ron Goldman, was sued Monday for legal fees by the firm that prepared her lawsuit against HarperCollins LLC, her former employer.
Dreier LLP, the company Regan hired to represent her, said that Regan backed down on a payment agreement she had signed for and then fired the law firm in "a calculated effort to avoid paying petitioners the agreed-upon fee," according to court papers.
After Dreier prepared and filed the lawsuit, Regan hired Los Angeles lawyer Bertram Fields to negotiate a settlement with HarperCollins.
After the settlement finalized, Regan fired Dreier and refused to pay the firm.
Regan sued NewsCorp's HarperCollins in November for $100 million for defamation. She claimed that the publishing company's employees falsely accused her of anti-Semitism and it eventually led to her being fired.
Dreier agreed to give Redniss & Associates law firm a percentage of whatever Dreier earned in the case. The firm is also named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Regan never signed the agreement but did send Dreier a check dated January 30, 2008 for $125,000.
The firm said they returned Regan's check.
Regan is best known for her provocative best-sellers Jose Canseco's "Juiced" and Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star."
"If I Did It" was yanked from stores before it went on sale, and the book was shelved until Goldman's family won the rights to the book in a South Florida court battle, and published the text under the title "I did it."
Simpson, who lives in Southwest Miami-Dade, denies claims the book amounts to a confession that he committed the murders.
Simpson was found not guilty of the crimes by a Los Angeles jury.
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