COVINGTON, Ky. -- A federal judge has dismissed a libel suit filed by a university professor against his ex-wife over a book she wrote about their troubled marriage. The legal battle pitted two accomplished law professors against each other in federal court in Kentucky.
Sharlene Graham Lassiter, a law professor at Northern Kentucky University, alleged in her 2003 book "I Have a Testimony," that her husband, Christo Lassiter abused her and carried on an extramarital affair. The book was not widely circulated and is out of print.
Christo Lassiter, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, denied the allegations and sued his ex-wife, calling her book libelous and defamatory.
U.S. District Court Judge William O. Bertelsman dismissed Christo Lassiter's suit on Tuesday, saying Sharlene Lassiter's "sincerity" was "obvious to the court."
"It was apparent her testimony conformed to her memory," Bertelsman wrote. Bertelsman added however that Sharlene Lassiter did not offer direct evidence of an extramarital affair, but her statements about it were "protected opinion" and not libelous.
Details here from the AP via seattlepi.com.