Rita Cosby's $60 Million Scoop

The Hachette Book Group has a $60 million lawsuit on its hands thanks to psychic author Rita Cosby.

Howard K. Stern, former lawyer and squire to the late Anna Nicole Smith, has made good on his threat to sue over the former MSNBC host's claim that he and Larry Birkhead, another Smith paramour, were gay lovers.

Stern doesn't exactly reek of credibility, but Hachette must nonetheless be soiling itself. (Jamie Raab, publisher of HBG's Grand Central imprint, never responded when I emailed him for comment.)

First, libel lawyers will tell you that an accusation of homosexuality is one of the red flags that make them especially nervous. Infidelity's another.

But worse, Cosby has admitted that she never asked Birkhead or Stern to comment on her claim, pre-publication, because "I knew what the answer would be."

To prove defamation against a public figure, a plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant acted with "actual malice" or "reckless disregard for the truth." Not bothering to call for comment on a bombshell like that sounds a little like reckless disregard, yes?