ATLANTA, April 9 LAWFUEL – American Legal Newswire — After meetings over the weekend in the Bahamas, I, along with my law firm, Powell Goldstein LLP, have been formally retained by Howard K. Stern, individually and in his capacity as the Executor of the Estate of Anna Nicole Smith. My representation of Mr. Stern will focus on those individuals and entities guilty of making false accusations of criminal conduct against him related to the tragic deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and her son, Daniel. My representation of Mr. Stern as the named executor under the last will and testament of Anna Nicole Smith will focus on those individuals and entities responsible for the theft of personal property of Ms. Smith and/or its unlawful use, sale or other misappropriation in the media.
Like my other defamation clients, Mr. Stern has been falsely accused. Like my other defamation clients, Mr. Stern is an innocent individual who has never been charged with any crime but finds himself on trial in the media. The media trial of Mr. Stern has been based on constant shouts of guilty from a barrage of uninformed commentators based on totally inaccurate and often manufactured “facts.” The nightly television, tabloid and Internet trial of Mr. Stern in the court of public opinion based on sensational lies, speculation, rumor and gossip is over.
There is no evidence that Mr. Stern was in any way responsible for the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith or her son, Daniel. The accusations that Mr. Stern is guilty of murder have been recklessly and maliciously invented and published by individuals and entities to advance their personal agendas with the complicity of a ratings-driven media.
With respect to the death of Anna Nicole Smith, the autopsy report prepared by the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office represents a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the evidence. It was prepared with input from an independent and highly-credentialed team of experts in a wide variety of forensic disciplines. In that report, the Medical Examiner concluded that the death of Anna Nicole Smith was accidental. No one has produced any evidence to rebut this conclusion because no such evidence exists.
To those considering making future false accusations against Mr. Stern, please consider the following advice: don’t do it. You are not immune from suit if you are not a member of the traditional media. Redress for false attacks on reputation is available for Internet accusations as well as those published in print or uttered on television and radio broadcasts.
To those considering future misuse of estate assets, the message is the same: don’t do it.
And to those who believe that Mr. Stern is hesitant to bring suit and thereby open up his life on cross examination during the discovery process, you are wrong. Mr. Stern has nothing to hide and he correctly views civil litigation not only as the forum for obtaining accountability for wrongdoing, but also as a forum for the public to learn the truth.
M. Krista Barth of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida will serve as co-counsel with Powell Goldstein in this litigation. Ms. Barth was one of the attorneys who successfully represented Mr. Stern in the Florida litigation which led to Ms. Smith being buried in the Bahamas next to her son. Powell Goldstein has also assembled a team of its First Amendment and fiduciary litigators to assist in this litigation including William V. Custer, Nicole J. Wade, Eric P. Schroeder, Luke A. Lantta and Benjamin Erwin.
Along with Ms. Barth, the lawyers at Powell Goldstein are dedicated to achieving justice for Mr. Stern and protecting the assets of the Anna Nicole Smith estate for the benefit of her daughter, Dannielynn.
