Judge Dismisses Natalee Holloway Lawsuit
Posted on Sat Aug 05, 2006 at 11:47:05 AM EST
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Congrats to my pal Joe Tacopina who represents Joran van Der Sloot in the New York civil lawsuit filed against him by Natalee Holloways' parents. The Judge, quite properly in my view, has dismissed the lawsuit, finding no reason for it to have been filed in New York.
The lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Barbara Kapnick, who said it shouldn't have been filed in Manhattan. She rejected an argument that if the case were filed in Aruba, it would prompt a media frenzy that could interfere with the investigation.
Kapnick said taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for a case "when their interest in the suit... is so ephemeral."
The lawsuit was a cheap shot and desperate move. The Holloways had a detective on the same plane as Joran flying from Amsterdam to the U.S. The detective served him when the plane landed.
New York has nothing to do with the case of the missing Alabama girl or with Joran, who has never been charged with a crime.
Van der Sloot's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told The Associated Press that the college student "was elated" by the judge's decision. "We were never afraid of the facts in this case," Tacopina said Thursday when the case was dismissed. "He did nothing to this girl. ... He's trying to get on with his life."
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