Manhattan lawyer Anthony Zappin intends to file defamation claims against the two tabloids over their coverage of his divorce from now ex-wife Claire Comfort, an attorney at Weil Gotshal & Manges. In September, the Columbia-educated patent attorney was fined $10,000 for 'aggressively hostile' behaviour in court by the civil judge presiding over his divorce case, after he reportedly castigated judges in open court and bullied the lawyer appointed to represent the interests of his 2-year-old son, for whom Ms Comfort was seeking primary custody.

On the offensive

Mr Zappin's pro se antics threw his divorce onto the pages of the tabloid press last year, which in turn brought several of the accusations against Mr Zappin—most notably, that he physically assaulted Ms Comfort while she was pregnant—into the public eye. He is now planning to seek damages from the New York Post and the New York Daily News for their coverage of the court proceedings, which included quotes from Ms Comfort's attorney that labeled Mr Zappin 'a monster'. A summons filed in December by Mr Zappin did not detail which claims will be brought against the papers, though it indicated that infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and misappropriation of his likeness may be included along with defamation.

Rocky career

Mr Zappin was dismissed from Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo after Supreme Court judge Matthew Cooper cited him for a 'maelstrom of misconduct' during the court proceedings, including using his legal license 'as a tool to threaten, bully and intimidate'. Mr Zappin had joined the firm after stints at mega-firms Latham & Watkins and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, the latter of which also fired him. Sources: The American Lawyer; Legal Cheek; New York Post