Ronan Farrow’s forthcoming exposé Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators already reportedly has NBC bracing itself for more Matt Lauer allegations, and it looks like they’re not the only ones worried about what may happen when it’s published: as the Daily Beast reports, former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard has reportedly threatened booksellers who plan on stocking it.
“We have been consulted by Dylan Howard in relation to false and defamatory allegations, which he has been advised and has reason to believe will be included in the above-named book,” a letter sent Sept. 27 from the Tweed law firm on behalf of Howard to Hive Store Limited, one of the targeted booksellers, said.
“We have put the publisher, Little, Brown Book Group Limited on notice that, if the offending content is included in the book, we are instructed to take such legal action as may be appropriate,” the letter continued. “You are now on notice under UK and Irish defamation laws of the potential defamatory content within the said book. We would therefore urge you to satisfy yourselves that the offending references to our client have been removed prior to distribution by your company.”
As the Daily Beast points out, Howard is likely targeting U.K. and Irish booksellers because he’s unlikely to succeed in the United States, where the First Amendment and other protections against prior restraint make his case more difficult.
“It doesn’t have a great deal of impact here with prominent publishers, because our libel laws are generally quite protective of publishers,” litigator Floyd Abrams told the publication. “This is primarily an English problem, of course. Their laws are much more libel-friendly than ours.”
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