Dr. Phil Sued by O.J. Associate

Update

Dr. Phil Sued by O.J. Associate

Wed., Oct. 22, 2008 11:45 AM PDT by Gina Serpe

ZumaPress.com

At the moment, Thomas Riccio seems to think no one is more reprehensible than Dr. Phil. This coming from a man with connections to O.J. Simpson.

The sports-memorabilia dealer, who set up the Las Vegas meeting cum heist that led to Simpson's arrest, filed suit against the talk-show host in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, alleging an interview he gave the TV doc earlier this month has been unfairly edited, with his answers rearranged and otherwise taken out of context, to completely change his intended meaning. (View the court documents.)

In the lawsuit, Riccio alleges fraud, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress and claims he was portrayed in a false light by both McGraw and Stage 29, which produces The Dr. Phil Show. He's seeking unspecified damages.

The interview in question took place Oct. 6 and aired on the Oct. 8 episode of the syndicated show.

In the lawsuit, Riccio claims that several of his answers were edited out when defending his innocence in the Simpson bust and replaced with reaction shots of him seeming to agree with McGraw's harsh, if folksy, assessment of his character.

In one instance, McGraw asks in connection to Simpson's arrest, "Are you trying to cash in on this? Didn't you sell the tapes for over $200,000?"

Riccio is seen responding by saying, "That's just the reality of it," an answer he says he gave in response to a different question on an entirely different topic.

McGraw is then heard to say, "That just seems slimy to me," a statement Riccio claims was made during another point in the show.

Riccio further claims that at one point during the episode, McGraw referred to another person involved in the case as "a liar, a fraud and a weasel." The quote was later featured in a promo for the show, taken out of context and intercut with shots of Riccio, making it appear as though the memorabilia dealer was the one being called the names.

And there was more where that came from.

Riccio claims he was also referred to on the show as "the shady deal maker," "a puppet master who would sell his soul for a coin," and "the ring leader of this crime."

He also noted that McGraw questioned several times whether Riccio had actually written Busted, the book on the case bearing his name, thereby implying to the audience, at least in Riccio's estimation, that he did not.

Reps for Dr. Phil have yet to comment on the lawsuit.

UPDATE: A judge on March 10, 2009, dismissed Riccio's claims of defamation, false light and intentional emotional distress, ruling that they violate Dr. Phil's right to free speech. Still to be decided on is the fraud allegation. A trial date has been set for Dec. 21, 2009.

UPDATE: The two sides reached a settlement, according to documents filed April 27, 2009.

—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum