Ronson filed suit against Perez in July 2007, alleging she was defamed when he reported that she might have owned cocaine found in Lohan's car after a crash in May 26, 2007.

Perez posted on his blog that Ronson had been "toxic" to Lohan, and, according to Ronson's court papers, he also wore a sweatshirt stating "Blame Samantha."

On Nov. 1, Judge Elihu M. Berle granted a motion by Hilton's lawyers to throw out the portion of the lawsuit involving Hilton on grounds it was frivolous and represented an infringement on his exercise of free speech.

Judge Elihu M. Berle ruled that that Ronson was at minimum a public figure for limited purposes, that a Web site is a public forum, and that the subject of celebrities using drugs is an item of public interest.

Ronson voluntarily injected herself into the public eye by not only appearing in public with Lohan, but in other ways that included spinning records at Jessica Simpson's birthday party, Berle ruled.

Last update: 01-29-2009 14:37