Elisabeth Hasselbeck's Diet: Now Gluten- and Lawsuit-Free

Judge dismisses plagiarism suit against View cohost after lawyer misses deadline; Hasselbeck was accused of lifting passages from book on celiac disease

By Gina Serpe Nov 17, 2009 3:18 PMTags
Elisabeth HasselbeckBryan Smith/ZumaPress.com

Elisabeth Hasselbeck may be a lot of things, but a rip-off artiste isn't one of them.

A plagiarism lawsuit brought against The View's token conservative was dismissed last week after her accuser's attorney declined to pursue the case.

The woman behind the initial court action was Susan Hassett, a self-published author who claims that Hasselbeck's recently released best-seller, The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide, lifted significant passages from Hassett's own book on celiac disease.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro dismissed the case last Thursday after Hassett's attorney failed to turn in paperwork related to the case in a timely enough manner. He later said that while portions of Hassett's dietary prose were definitely lifted for Hasselbeck's book, the passages weren't significant enough to warrant damages.

Which is apparently all the lawyer needed to hear to get packing.

For her part, Hasselbeck has long denied the copycat allegations and even addressed them on The View. "I just want to assure you the allegations are without merit and are being handled appropriately," she told viewers over the summer, when the suit was filed.

As for how the Emotional One would have been privy to the self-published book in the first place, Hassett said she sent Hasselbeck a copy back in April 2008, after finding out the host suffered from celiac disease, along with a personal note.

Which presumably did not contain the words don't, copy or this.

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Did you hear Hasselbeck is already back from maternity leave? Check out other breeder leaders in our Hollywood's Hottest Mom's gallery.