Seems sometime actor Sean Penn is seeking ten million dollars against some director (Lee Daniels) for an off-sided comment.  Seems Mr. Penn is tired of playing the victim and wants to live a quiet life.  Seems that in order to live the quiet life, Mr. Penn’s lawyer has to paint a picture showing how victimized Mr. Penn is/has become.  As far as complaints go, this one is a doozy.  Don’t take my word for it, the first few paragraphs of the complaint read like a soap opera:

As a result of Penn’s status as a public figure, he has for years been the subject of scandalous, scurrilous, and baseless attacks. But Penn, like any citizen, has a right to defend himself and will no longer tolerate the reckless and malicious behavior of others, who seek to aggrandize themselves or their projects at his expense. Accordingly, and because of Daniels’ defamatory statements, Penn brings this action for monetary relief, and to deter Daniels and others from their defamatory actions.

Oh, cry me a river.  On it’s fact, it’s just another money grab.  But for the trained legal eye, this defamation action actually interesting in that the comment was not stated directly at the director but as a side comment – almost like an afterthought.  Better yet, from the looks of it, this lawsuit doesn’t look so much like defamation action at all but as an attempt to get back at someone for something else.  Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this plays out (in the courts – not the media).  These are some high profile individuals with access to expensive lawyers so grab your popcorn and wait for the next salvo.  

As always when the law peaks your interest, feel free to stop by our various locations in Riverside, Indio or Temecula and see if our Librarians can’t help you find whatever it is you need.