Casey Anthony civil case will go forward for now
ORLANDO (AP) – A judge on Tuesday refused to toss out a defamation lawsuit against a Florida mother charged with killing her toddler daughter last year.
Attorneys for Casey Anthony had asked the judge to dismiss the civil lawsuit filed by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, who claims Anthony defamed her when she told police her daughter, Caylee, had been kidnapped by a nanny named Zenaida Gonzalez.
Over the objections of Anthony’s attorney, Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez said Fernandez-Gonzalez could file an amended complaint seeking punitive damages in addition to damages for the lost income she claims she suffered from not being able to find a job for months because her reputation was smeared.
Fernandez-Gonzalez has since found a job, although her attorney, Keith Mitnik, refused to offer details. He also refused to say how much Fernandez-Gonzalez would seek in punitive damages.
Fernandez-Gonzalez’s attorney said the amended complaint seeking punitive damages will cite Casey Anthony’s authorizing her mother, Cindy Anthony, to tell reporters falsely that Casey Anthony had looked at a photo of Fernandez-Gonzalez and was unable to clear her of being the woman who she says took her daughter.