Debra Opri

EXCLUSIVE: Debra Opri to Larry Birkhead: "You Can't Handle the Truth!"

ken — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:15:31 -0400

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The feisty lawyer launches another attack on her former client.

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Larry Birkhead's former lawyer Debra Opri isn't letting her defamation lawsuit against her ex-client speak for itself.

After learning that Birkhead went on Fox News Channel's On the Record with Greta Van Susteren Tuesday night claiming that Opri's suit was filed for publicity, Opri exclusively told Usmagazine.com: "Mr. Birkhead wouldn’t know the truth if it was staring at him with a camera and microphone. Keep ranting, Larry. You can't handle the truth!"

Birkhead told Van Susteren Tuesday that he will "show proof" that Opri is the one who has inflicted damage -- on his reputation. "Debra Opri better be ready for some fireworks because I'm gonna bring out all these people that will show exactly what she has done to me," Birkhead said. "I will spend every single cent that I have fighting this lady so that this doesn’t happen to other people."

Opri, who had represented the former lover of Anna Nicole Smith and biological father of their child, Dannielynn, until they parted ways last March, filed a defamation lawsuit against Birkhead Monday in an L.A. court.

“After I chose to terminate our legal relationship, Larry Birkhead began a malicious and relentless media campaign to discredit me and to destroy my reputation,” Opri said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. (Birkhead insists he terminated Opri.)

Birkhead, 34, the father of Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn, has been locked in a legal battle with Opri over $620,000 in legal fees she says he owes her. Their feud heated up recently after journalist Rita Cosby, in her book Blonde Ambition, quoted sources saying Opri had been concerned that Birkhead didn’t even know how to child-proof his home prior to winning custody of his daughter.

Responding to the allegations last month, Birkhead told Us: “Every source that says something negative about me in that book is either in a fight with me or going to court with me.”

Opri tells Us she has full confidence that she will prevail in her lawsuit, adding, "I would never have filed a defamation action unless I was clearly confident about what I have. I welcome my day in court with Mr. Birkhead."

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Larry Birkhead attends the The 59th Primetime EMMY Awards TV Guide After Party at Les Deux on September 16, 2007 in Los Angeles; Debra Opri leaves the Santa Maria Court House following a hearing in Jackson's child molestation case July 9, 2004 in Santa Maria, California.

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Larry Birkhead Sued by Ex-Lawyer Debra Opri

ken — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:45:35 -0400

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The attorney proclaims: “I have had enough.”

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There’s a new chapter in the ongoing drama in the aftermath of Anna Nicole Smith’s death.

Attorney Debra Opri, who had represented former Smith lover Larry Birkhead until they parted ways last March, filed a defamation lawsuit against Birkhead Monday in an L.A. court.

Birkhead, 34, the father of Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn, has been locked in a legal battle with Opri over $620,000 in legal fees she says he owes her. Their feud heated up recently after claims in journalist Rita Cosby’s book Blonde Ambition quoted sources saying Opri had been concerned that Birkhead didn’t even know how to childhood proof his home prior to winning custody of his daughter.

Responding to the allegations last month, Birkhead told Us: “Every source that says something negative about me in that book is either in a fight with me or going to court with me.”

Opri’s statement Monday addressed the controversy over the Cosby book, stating, “It is clear now that Mr. Birkhead’s attempts to discredit me concerned what I knew and what might be exposed publicly...and not a legal bill. With the recent release of the Rita Cosby book: ‘Blonde Ambition,’ Mr. Birkhead’s attacks have escalated to include false and malicious allegations that I was a source for the book.

“My message today to Larry Birkhead is... I have had enough.”

Birkhead couldn’t be reached for comment.

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Larry Birkhead and then attorney Debra Opri, arrive to talk to the media outside Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006.

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Debra Opri Tells Us Why She Was Hoff’ed

Megan Lynn — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:12:34 -0400

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Just four days after a judge granted primary physical and sole legal custody of her daughters Hayley, 14, and Taylor-Ann, 17, to her ex, David Hasselhoff, Pamela Bach has fired attorney Debra Opri. Bach appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 19 and asked a judge to appoint Mark Kaplan as her new attorney. Judge Mark Juhas granted the request.

Opri, who is currently embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with one-time client Larry Birkhead, tells Usmagazine.com:

"I had a month and a half to turn it around for Pamela Bach. We had a storm coming with David Hasselhoff's motion for custody. The motion was set. And the long and the short of it is that we ran out of time. We had three major victories along the way but in the end, [the judge] gave custody to David. We got the court to put in place stringent alcohol testing for David, we got the court to initiate a massive parent counseling order. I am the 7th attorney in this case. Some people need quick results. I delivered 3/4 of what I needed to deliver, it was just that last quarter. I wish Pamela the best. I gave her all the results that were humanly possible. I don't know what better luck Mark Kaplan or whatever other attorney will have for that matter."

Debra Opri

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