Former publisher Judith Regan filed a lawsuit against her former employers in New York State Supreme Court seeking $100 million in compensatory damages. The suit has been expected since Ms. Regan was fired late last year for allegedly making anti-Semitic remarks during a conversation with a lawyer employed by News Corp.’s HarperCollins Publishers.
[Judith Regan]
In her suit, Ms. Regan alleges that she was terminated without cause by News Corp., HarperCollins Publishers, and by Jane Friedman, CEO of HarperCollins. In November 2006, Ms. Regan was at the center of a storm of controversy created by her plans to publish a book by O.J. Simpson titled “If I Did It.” The title was eventually canceled. Ms. Regan, publisher of ReganBooks, an imprint owned by HarperCollins, was fired in December.
“This action arises from a deliberate smear campaign orchestrated by one of the world’s largest media conglomerates for the sole purpose of destroying one woman’s credibility and reputation,” Ms. Regan’s suit states.
In addition, Ms. Regan’s suit states that the defendants were aware that Ms. Regan had a personal relationship with Bernard Kerik, the former police commissioner of New York City and a member of Giuliani Partners who was recently “indicted on federal charges of tax fraud and corruption.” Ms. Regan’s suit states that “a senior executive in the News Corp. organization” told her that “he believed she had information about Kerik that, if disclosed, would harm Giuliani’s presidential campaign. This executive advised Regan to lie to, and to withhold information from, investigators concerning Kerik.”
