Judge Gives Defamation Plaintiffs More Time in Suit Against Dr. Phil
A judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw by two brothers questioned in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.
Superior Court Judge Edward Ferns gave lawyers for brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe an extra five days to produce documents about the criminal investigation of their actions in Aruba, the Associated Press reports. Lawyers for McGraw and CBS television had argued the case should be dismissed because they did not meet deadlines to produce the information.
The suit claims the Dr. Phil show altered a taped conversation between Deepak Kalpoe and a private investigator to “create false, incriminating, and defamatory statements that the plaintiffs engaged in criminal activity against Natalee Holloway.”
In a different secretly recorded conversation, aired Monday on 20/20, another youth, Joran Van der Sloot, said Holloway died on the beach when they were kissing, and he was unable to revive her. Van der Sloot has also been under investigation. He has since said he was lying in the taped conversation, and he had nothing to do with Holloway’s disappearance.
