A judge has ordered that Marilyn Manson must pay Evan Rachel Wood‘s legal fees for her defense against his defamation lawsuit against her — the bulk of which was previously tossed out.
Manson will foot the $326,956 bill for Wood’s defense against the defamation and emotional distress claims that were struck from his lawsuit last year. The order came down from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet at a hearing on Monday (January 29th), as reported by Rolling Stone.
The same judge dismissed much of the case last May. Manson’s defamation suit followed the actress’ claims of abuse during the one-time couple’s relationship from 2007 to 2010 — claims that were protected by the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP law and its protections on individual free speech, according to the judge.
Judge Beaudet did trim off $60k from Wood’s reimbursement claims, stating that some descriptions for billed hours were too “vague.” And while that wraps up part of the ongoing legal battle between Manson and Wood, a court date is set for May 1st to settle Manson’s claim that Wood and her friend Illma Gore conspired to hack into his computer, impersonate him over the Internet, and make a phone call that brought police to his doorstep.
Manson still faces legal trouble elsewhere, as his former assistant Ashley Walters won an appeal in December that revived her previously dismissed lawsuit against the shock rocker, claiming that he sexually assaulted her and once physically abused her during a drug-induced rage.
