Judge Judy files lawsuit in Naples against National Enquirer over Menendez brothers claim

A nationally known judge, who's been on air for nearly three decades, has filed a lawsuit in Southwest Florida, claiming statements made by a media company that owns a popular tabloid tarnished her reputation.

Judge Judy Sheindlin, professionally known as Judge Judy, on Monday filed a lawsuit in Collier County circuit court, after Accelerate360 and a360 Media, in Smyrna, Georgia, on April 10 published an article headlined "Inside Judge Judy’s Quest to Save the Menendez Brothers Nearly 35 Years After Their Parents’ Murder."

Sheindlin has lived part-time in Naples for decades and is occasionally seen at the annual Naples Winter Wine Festival and other local society events. According to a 2015 Naples Daily News report, the Sheindlins have lived part-time in the North Naples area since 2005.

The story initially published on InTouch Weekly, later appearing elsewhere, the lawsuit says. That articlefeatured a photo of Sheindlin, flanked on both sides by photos of the Menendez brothers, who were convicted of the California murder of their parents in August 1989, the lawsuit says.

Lyle and Erik Menendez: Brothers convicted of killing parents

Lyle Menendez, then 21, and his brother Erik Menendez, then 18, fired at Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez several times with shotguns, including at point-blank range to the head.

Prosecutors asserted the brothers wanted their parents' $14 million fortune. The siblings claimed their father abused them.

Initially, Lyle and Erik were tried separately in proceedings that began in 1993, USA TODAY reported. On the stand, Erik fought back tears as he told jurors of his dad's abuse, which he said began when he was 6 and lasted until the time of the murders.

The digital and print editions of the National Enquirer also published by Accelerate360, read on their front pages, "True crime! Judge Judy’s FIGHT FOR LYLE & ERIK!," the lawsuit says.

National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly story damaging to Judge Judy's reputation, suit says

According to the lawsuit, the outlets claimed Sheindlin described the proceedings as "rigged" and that Sheindlin reportedly said "... Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg intended to run the second trial in a 'very, very different' manner than he had the first."

The complaint says the reports claimed Sheindlin "begged Leslie Abramson — defense attorney for theaccused — to demand Weisberg recuse himself in favor of a new trial judge."

"As a judge’s stock in trade is her reputation, these defamations are especially damaging in that they strike at the heart of Judge Sheindlin’s good reputation," the 20-page lawsuit reads in part.

The civil complaint claims the defamatory online statements led to reproach and humiliation.

"Judge Judy should be in jail herself for having a big mouth," one of the comment screenshots attributed to a user identified as Jerry Guskiewicz shows.

Another user, under the alias Sputnik, said, "Another dementia judge." The lawsuit contains 20 screenshot comments.

The lawsuit says Sheindlin never made any of the statements attributed to her; never attempted to intercede for the Menendez brothers; and never spoke to Abramson about any of those matters.

In her complaint, Sheindlin says she was misquoted for an individual identified on screen in a docuseries as "Judi Zamos," and as an "Alternate Juror, First Trial."

The suit alleges the content appeared in sites and platforms such as InTouch Weekly; National Enquirer; Magzter; News Break; Instagram; and Yahoo Entertainment.

By the time the lawsuit was filed in circuit court, the complaint alleges, the National Enquire hadn't retracted an April 22 article from the News Break app — a service used by newsrooms to send push alerts and breaking news notices.

Sheindlin, a Collier County resident, seeks more than $50,000 in relief, exclusive of interest, costs and attorneys’ fees, according to the lawsuit. It further says the defendant media companies committed the acts within the state of Florida.

Judge Judy court TV show ran 25 seasons

Judge Judy debuted on Sept. 16, 1996, and ran for 25 seasons until July 23, 2021; drew between nine and 10 million daily viewers; and won Daytime Emmy Awards in 2013, 2016 and 2017, the lawsuit says.

Search continues: Cash reward up to $8,000 for tips in whereabouts of siblings wanted for murder

After Judge Judy wrapped in 2021, Sheindlin launched "Judy Justice," which debuted in November 2021 and won a Daytime Emmy Award in its first season.

According to the lawsuit, Sheindlin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., and New York Law School.

After she passed the New York State Bar examination, she worked as a corporate attorney and then as a prosecutor in the New York family-court system before then-New York mayor Ed Koch in 1982 appointed her as a family-court judge, later promoted to supervising judge in the family court's Manhattan division.

'It has to be expensive so that you will stop'

Sheindlin seeks both a jury trial and a speedy trial. Accelerate360 couldn't be reached by phone Tuesday morning and didn't respond to a written request for comment by the afternoon.

"When you fabricate stories about me in order to make money for yourselves with no regard for the truth or the reputation I’ve spent a lifetime cultivating, it’s going to cost you," Sheindlin wrote in a statement, shared by her publicist, Gary Rosen Communications. "When you’ve done it multiple times, it’s unconscionable and will be expensive. It has to be expensive so that you will stop."

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Judge Judy sues National Enquirer over claim supporting killer brothers