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Louisville student sues Katina Powell, book publisher

Andre McGee

Andre McGee

AP

There’s been another twist in the Louisville escort scandal, and it has nothing to do with the ongoing NCAA investigation.

Thursday it was reported that a Louisville student has sued Katina Powell, the escort who wrote the book “Breaking Cardinal Rules,” and publisher Indianapolis Business Journal. Louisville sophomore Kyle Nicole Hornback’s argument is that the book has tarnished the reputation of the school and thus decreased the value of a Louisville degree.

Hornback’s lawyer, according to The Bird Cage, which was first to report the lawsuit, would like to see the lawsuit gain class action status with book profits (should they win) being used to benefit all Louisville students.

However, according to one attorney who discussed the situation with the Louisville Courier-Journal, this case doesn’t have a good chance of being successful.

But Jon Fleischaker, a leading First Amendment attorney, said the suit, filed Thursday in Jefferson Circuit Court, is meritless and raises serious constitutional questions.

“Whatever you think of Katina Powell, she has a First Amendment right to write about whatever she wants and it appears that at least some of what she wrote is true,” said Fleischaker, who represents the Kentucky Press Association and The Courier-Journal.

“This is a silly lawsuit,” Fleischaker said.


With facts still being gathered and the former Louisville staffer most prominently named in the book, Andre McGee, yet to say anything publicly regarding the allegations, this is a situation that is unlikely to provide much clarity in the near future. But given Powell’s right to put together the book, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit would need most (if not all) of the former escort’s statements to be proven false to have any chance of winning.