Tom Cruise Lawsuit Enters Private Mediation
The Tom Cruise lawsuit against two tabloids has entered private mediation.
The actor filed a $50 million lawsuit against In Touch and Life & Style magazine over reports that Cruise abandoned his daughter following his divorce. Instead of heading to court, the lawsuit will be sorted out through private mediation.
According to The Huffington Post, the order will essentially prevent any personal information from being revealed to the public.
Tom Cruise filed the lawsuit after the magazines published reports that the Oblivion star was neglecting his responsibilities as a parent. Since the actor and his lawyer defined these statements as “vicious” lies, Cruise and company decided to make magazines’ publisher pay.
The Wrap reports that a motion filed last month stated the lawsuit would enter private mediation if the case wasn’t settled within 45 days of the pretrial conference.
Last December, Bauer Publishing Co. stated that the stories about Tom Cruise abandoning his six-year-old daughter were “substantially true.” The statement released by the company also said the publications “do not assert verifiably false facts, and/or constitute rhetorical hyperbole or subjective statements of opinion.”
Bert Fields told TMZ last year that Tom Cruise intended to donate any money he received from the lawsuit to charity. The lawyer described In Touch and Life & Style as “smut peddlers.”
Fields explained:
“Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri. She’s a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has ‘abandoned’ her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible. Tom doesn’t go around suing people. He’s not a litigious guy. But when these sleaze peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he’s going to sue.”
Tom Cruise’s lawyer added:
“These serial defamers are foreign owned companies with their global headquarters in Hamburg. They take money from unsuspecting Americans by selling their malicious garbage. Having to pay a libel judgment may slow them down.”
Fields explained to E! Online that Tom Cruise speaks to his daughter every day. He also said the actor spends a great deal of time with Suri. Since Cruise and his lawyer feel none of the allegations made by the publications are true, they have decided to make Bauer pay for spreading lies.
Are you a fan of Tom Cruise? Do you think he should sue In Touch and Life & Style magazines for spreading tall tales about his role as a father?
