This is a cookbook full of gluten free recipes that are perfect for parties, pot lucks, and family meals. You'll find a variety of appetizers, casseroles, breads and desserts, plus my tips and tricks that will let you attend parties with confidence.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has been cleared of defaming an author who contended that his wife's cookbook stole her ideas, in what his lawyers hailed as as a victory for the right to tell jokes.
In a decision made public on Friday, New York State Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman found that Seinfeld's mocking tirade on television against cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine could not be considered defamation.
Friedman also dismissed Lapine's plagiarism claims against HarperCollins, the publisher of Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets To Get Your Kids Eating Good Food."
"Seinfeld's statements are protected not because they were made in a comedic context nor because they are themselves comedic, but because, as the context and content demonstrate, they are not defamatory as a matter of law," Friedman said, referring to comments Seinfeld made on "The Late Show with David Letterman" in 2007.
Seinfeld's law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher said the decision "is a complete victory for Jerry - and also a victory for the First Amendment and the right of comedians to tell jokes."
"The decision also vindicates HarperCollins and Jessica Seinfeld yet again, confirming what the two different federal courts have already ruled: Jessica independently created her bestselling book 'Deceptively Delicious'," the attorneys added.
Lapine's attorney, Howard Miller, said "we are evaluating the opinion for an appeal."
Lapine also lost a 2008 lawsuit in a New York federal appeals court in April in which she claimed Jessica Seinfeld plagiarized her book.
Seinfeld's book, published in 2007, showcases techniques for sneaking healthy foods into child-friendly dishes.
Lapine's book, published a few months earlier, was titled "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals."
In his "Late Show" appearance, Seinfeld joked that Lapine was a "whacko" who had accused his wife of "vegetable plagiarism."
(Reporting by Basil Katz; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Christine Kearney)
NEW YORK – A judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a cookbook author who accused Jerry Seinfeld of hurting her reputation by mocking her on national television.
In a ruling filed with the court Friday, state Justice Marcy Friedman said it was clear the comedian was joking when he called author Missy Chase Lapine a "wacko" during an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 2007.
The judge said Seinfeld also has a constitutional right to express his opinion.
The suit stemmed from a legal battle in which Lapine accused Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, of stealing her idea for a book on how to get children to eat healthy. Both women had published their books that year. Lapine's was called, "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals." Jessica Seinfeld's was titled "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food."
The case became tabloid fodder, and Seinfeld addressed it on Letterman with a heaping of ridicule.
"One of the fun facts of celebrity life is wackos will wait in the woodwork to pop out at certain moments of your life to inject a little adrenaline into your life experience," Seinfeld told Letterman.
"So there's another woman who had another cookbook," he continued. "My wife never saw the book, read the book, used the book ... But the books came out at the same time. So this woman says, 'I sense this could be my wacko moment.'"
Seinfeld said Lapine was accusing his wife of "vegetable plagiarism."
"She comes out and says, 'You stole my mushed-up carrots. You can't put mushed-up carrots in a casserole. I put mushed-up carrots in the casserole.'"
A federal court eventually agreed with Seinfeld that the copyright suit was baseless and tossed it out last year. The judges said there was nothing original about the idea of "stockpiling vegetable purees for covert use in children's food."
Friedman's ruling, signed Wednesday but filed Friday, noted that you can't sue someone for libel in the U.S. merely for hurling an insult. You must show that a person lied about facts in order to damage a person's reputation and did so in such a way that a reasonable person would have believed that those false statements were true.
Given all of the hyperbole in his jokes — one of which implied that people who went by three names, like Lapin, were predisposed to become assassins — the judge said she found it "inconceivable" that a reasonable viewer thought he was serious about fearing for his safety. And as for Seinfeld's suggestion that Lapine was an opportunist making up baseless plagiarism claims, the judge wrote that he was entitled to voice his opinion.
"If the law were to the contrary, the protection of the First Amendment would be unacceptably denied to persons who publicly defend themselves against what they believe to be baseless charges or lawsuits," she wrote.
The judge also absolved "Deceptively Delicious" publisher HarperCollins of any wrongdoing. Lapine had accused the company of lifting ideas from a book proposal she sent the company in 2006.
Lapine's lawyer, Howard Miller, said he and his client were evaluating the opinion and would decide later whether to appeal. He had no other comment.
Seinfeld's attorney, Orin Snyder, called the decision "a complete victory for Jerry, and also a victory for the First Amendment and the right of comedians to tell jokes."
