Subject:  Lawsuit planned against Springer show... well, duh! |
Author:
Chris
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Date Posted: 01:17:16 07/03/02 Wed
What took them so long???
Source: www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/news/local/3572770.htm
Lawsuit planned against talk show
BRIAN HAAS
Herald Staff Writer
Lawyers representing the family of a woman murdered after she appeared on the "Jerry Springer Show" "declared war on Jerry Springer" on Saturday, promising to sue him and his television show.
Paul Vlachos, attorney for the family of Nancy Campbell-Panitz, and Ellis Rubin, a Miami-based attorney known for taking controversial, high-profile cases, are forming a legal team to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Campbell-Panitz's survivors.
Campbell-Panitz was choked, stomped and beaten to death July 24, 2000, hours after the "Jerry Springer Show" aired an episode detailing her troubled relationship with her ex-husband Ralf Panitz and his new wife, Eleanor Panitz. Ralf Panitz was sentenced to life in prison in May for killing his ex-wife.
Rubin minced no words in saying Campbell-Panitz died "at the hands of the 'Jerry Springer Show.' " Aside from helping the family, he said he is filing the lawsuit, "on behalf of the American public who is fed up with the spoon-fed trash that is on television."
"I think the American public has had enough of the type of shows that exploit human tragedies and create human tragedies," Rubin said. "We hope to make it the death knell of these types of shows."
In 1999, the family of Scott Amedure won a $25 million award against the "Jenny Jones" show. After a 1995 unaired episode, guest Jonathan Schmitz was surprised to learn his secret admirer was Amedure. Three days after that taping, Amedure was fatally shot by Schmitz, who is serving a 25- to 50-year sentence.
Vlachos said there are important differences between the two daytime talk show cases, one being that Campbell-Panitz's episode was aired while the Jenny Jones episode was not. Another difference, Rubin said, was the amount of money the attorneys expect to win from the "Jerry Springer Show."
"Our verdict is going to be much greater than the $25 million of the Jenny Jones verdict," Rubin said.
Though attorneys are still working on many of the details of the lawsuit, Rubin said they will likely seek damages in the eight-figure range. The attorneys expect to file the lawsuit in the next two weeks, though they said they're not sure if it will be in federal or state courts.
One thing they do know is that they're targeting Jerry Springer himself. Rubin said he plans to put Springer on the stand for "days, if not weeks" during the trial. He said their case will be made even stronger using Springer's own book, "Ringmaster."
"We're going to declare war on Jerry Springer," Rubin said. "I just want to say to Jerry Springer: 'Have a good time, because we're coming.' "
The "Jerry Springer Show" offices were closed Saturday.
Brian Haas, staff writer, can be reached at 782-1207 or at bhaas@bradentonherald.com.
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