The Murky Marital Situation of Prison Lifer Lyle Menendez

THE EX FILES: The California Department of Corrections, official keeper of convicted killer Lyle Menendez, is debunking reports of his pending divorce from his conference-call bride, Anna Eriksson.

Because as far as Lyle’s jailers are concerned, he wasn’t legally married in the first place.

Attorney Leslie Abramson reported in her recent autobiography that she arranged the secret July 1996 wedding ceremony, via telephone, the day before Lyle and his brother, Erik, were sentenced to life prison terms for the shotgun slayings of their millionaire parents. Abramson was out of town and couldn’t be reached for comment.

“We did not recognize the wedding,’ said spokeswoman Christine May, adding that Lyle’s martial status was the subject of an investigation by corrections officials. “Our determination was that it was not a legal marriage,” she said.

And so, according to May, any divorce “has no bearing on the Department of Corrections.” As a lifer, 29-year-old Lyle was not entitled to conjugal visits.

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HEIDI WINS ONE: A Superior Court judge tossed out a $340,000 judgment against imprisoned Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss and granted her a new trial for allegedly slandering two police officers involved in the sting operation that led to her 1993 arrest on pandering charges.

Judge Arnold H. Gold tried an absent Fleiss in July, then awarded the damages to diving coach Samuel Lee, his son, Beverly Hills Police Officer Samuel Lee II, and LAPD Officer Patricia Corso. Fleiss, who was representing herself, failed to show up for the trial.

Now, Fleiss is represented by lawyer Jeralyn Keller, who argued that the judgment was unfair because Fleiss never received notice in a federal prison near Oakland, where she is serving a 37-month sentence for federal tax evasion and money laundering. Fleiss is indigent, making only $18 a month in prison, argued Keller, who is representing Fleiss for free.

Keller said she came to Fleiss’ aid because the situation “just didn’t seem fair.”

In court documents, Fleiss said notices mailed to her in prison were improperly addressed and never reached her.

Attorney Robert Thompson said his clients, the officers and the diver, are disappointed and are contemplating an appeal. Fleiss, he said, “is just prolonging the inevitable.”

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THE LITIGIOUS LIFE: Sylvester Stallone may be the first major motion picture star to be accused of racketeering in federal court. Even though it’s only an allegation in a civil case, Stallone’s not taking it lightly.

The megastar has launched a two-pronged legal attack--just the latest round in his imbroglio with an independent production company over a cameo role in “The Good Life,” a yet-to-be released film about golfing gangsters.

First, let’s sort out the players.

In one corner is Stallone, known to millions as Rocky and Rambo, who is suing for $20 million in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging fraud and breach of contract in connection with the film role, which he accepted as a favor to his brother Frank.

In the other corner is the brother-sister production team of Alan and Diane Mehrez, who filed a $50-million countersuit against Stallone, accusing him of violating civil sections of the federal racketeering laws by abusing his star power to bully and cheat smaller Hollywood players.

Lawyer Martin D. Singer is seeking a dismissal of the Mehrez suit; a hearing is scheduled later this month. He claims in legal papers that the racketeering allegations “are without merit.”

Singer also seeks to add a count accusing the Mehrezes and their lawyer, Pierce O’Donnell, of slandering Stallone.

The revised suit alleges that the three tried to extort a settlement from Stallone, then sullied his reputation by calling him a gangster during a televised news conference. Stallone contended that the extortion attempt was timed to humiliate him just as his most recent film, “Cop Land,” was released.

Calling the star a gangster “states directly and by implication that Stallone is a criminal who regularly violates the law,” the revised suit said.

O’Donnell said he was quoting from legal documents when he referred to Stallone as a gangster, and asserted that language in lawsuits is protected by free speech guarantees. He added, “I wear the Sylvester Stallone lawsuit like a badge of honor. It is a lawyer’s highest calling to deflect blows from his clients. Once again this is Sylvester Stallone being a bully.”

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EARLY EDITION: Here in La-La Land, all things are derivative. Even ideas that seem fresh and original usually come from someplace else. Take the case of the television show “Early Edition,” which airs on CBS on Saturday nights. It’s about a guy who can see the future because he gets the next day’s paper delivered to him mysteriously. He spends the 9-10 p.m. time slot trying to save the unwitting victims of the next day’s catastrophes.

Cool idea, right? But a pair of lawsuits contend that it’s hardly an original.

The notion first appeared in a 1944 film called “It Happened Tomorrow,” which in turn was based on a play called “The Jest of Hahalaba,” according to one lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Producer Lois Luger claims in her suit against TriStar Pictures that she owns the rights to “It Happened Tomorrow,” which she purchased in 1984, when she hoped to produce a remake. The project stalled in development for 10 years.

According to Luger’s lawyer, Henry Gradstein, TriStar abandoned her movie deal after claiming to own the literary rights and striking a TV deal with CBS for the “Early Edition” series.

Then there’s Michael Givens’ suit, also filed in Superior Court. The aspiring television writer from Sherman Oaks and two young producer pals, Mike Jacobs Jr. and William Webb, contend that CBS bought the original screenplay for a film or TV pilot they called “The Fourth Estate” and signed them to a development deal in 1994 for a project called “Final Edition.”

Then suddenly CBS stopped returning their phone calls. Lo and behold, the suit stated, about six months later, Givens and friends read in Daily Variety about a new show called “Early Edition.”

“Obviously, the premise was the same,” said the trio’s lawyer, Brian Rishwain. “It was in development for a year at CBS, then they cut them out of the loop altogether.”

Rishwain added, “These were three inexperienced young guys who were able to pitch a project to CBS that obviously was valued by the network. Then all of a sudden the wool gets pulled out from under them. Now I’ve got three young guys who are fuming over being denied their big chance.”

CBS had no comment.

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SHOW ME THE SETTLEMENT: Although neither side’s discussing details, Reebok is very happy about the eleventh-hour settlement of its lawsuit against TriStar and Sony Pictures Entertainment over an agreement to promote its products in the film “Jerry McGuire.” Reebok, you might recall, was seeking $12 million in damages as the case headed toward trial last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Reebok alleged that a promised phony commercial was cut from the Christmas hit starring Tom Cruise and Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr.

All the lawyers involved were mum. But a Reebok spokesman said in a statement that “Reebok and TriStar have amicably resolved all of their differences and plan to work together on a number of future projects.”

Did TriStar show Reebok the money? Will everyone at Sony be wearing sneakers?