According to court testimony, about 600,000 copies of "The Red Hat Club" were published by New York-based St. The lawsuit was filed in Hall County because Smith lived in the Hall County portion of Buford when the book was published. "I am so appreciative of this jury, that took it upon itself to do something that will make our country a little better, and hopefully make our publishing laws better. "All I wanted is for this not to happen to anyone else," a tearful Stewart said after thanking members of the jury for their verdict. Stewart sued for defamation because SuSu is portrayed in the book as a sexually promiscuous alcoholic. The "SuSu" character in Smith’s humorous novel about Buckhead socialites shared more than 30 similarities with Stewart, including where she grew up, the jobs she held and how her first husband died. Vickie Stewart won her defamation lawsuit against author and former friend Haywood Smith when a Hall County State Court jury found that the book libeled her by including a fictional character that closely resembled Stewart. The bestselling 2003 novel "The Red Hat Club" treaded a little too close to one woman’s real life, a Hall County jury decided Thursday in a case that could have wider implications in the publishing world.
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