Maybe Yana told them the Facts?

TONYA CHRISTIAN (F.K.A. KASABIAN)
v.
BARRICADE BOOKS, INC.

The opinion of the court was delivered by: Paul Barbadoro, Chief Judge.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Tonya Christian filed this civil action seeking compensatory damages from Barricade Books, Inc. for defamation and invasion of privacy. Barricade moves to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. (Doc. No. 12). For the reasons set forth below, I grant Barricade's motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Barricade, a New York corporation, conducts its book publishing business principally from offices located in New Jersey. The company has no New Hampshire offices. It does not have any employees or agents who work in the state. Nor does it target New Hampshire in its marketing efforts.

Christian, is a 35 year-old resident of Rochester, New Hampshire. She is the daughter of Linda Kasabian, a one-time follower of Charles Manson who, along other members of Manson's "family," murdered the actress Sharon Tate.

In 1999, Barricade entered into an agreement with Greg King to publish his book, Sharon Tate & the Manson Murders. The book is a biography of Tate which purports to describe the "[s]trange connections between Sharon Tate, the Hollywood elite and Charles Manson's so-called `family'. . . ." Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss. King makes the following statement about Christian in the book's epilogue:

On October 24, 1996, members of the Tacoma, Washington Police Department served a search warrant on the apartment owned by Kasabian's daughter Tanya [sic], known to authorities as "Lady Dangerous." Kasabian, as well as Tonya's two young children, were present when the police arrived. Their report stated: "In the master bedroom (defendant's bedroom) officers located a small baggie containing suspected rock cocaine and a large bundle of cash in a dresser drawer. On top of the dresser was a bunch of baggies. Also in the room officers located a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, ammunition, electronic scales, a plate with cocaine residue, and another bundle of cash . . . Tanya [sic], found guilty of possession of controlled substances, was sentenced to a year in state prison.

Christian charges that this statement mistakenly confuses her with her sister, Quanu and is defamatory because she has never been convicted of possession of a controlled substance.

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