Libel Lawsuit Target Says She Meant No Harm

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Libel Lawsuit Target Says She Meant No Harm

Richmond Times-Dispatch (08/11/94) P. B4

Doris Sheppard, a Dublin, Va., woman targeted in a $10 million libel lawsuit by Pulaski dentist Gus Vlahos, says she meant no harm by showing colleagues and family members a flier falsely claiming he has AIDS. Sheppard's attorney, Jimmy Turk, says his client was shocked at the repercussions she faces because she showed the document--which she found in her home-delivery newspaper box--to a few people. The flier was written on what turned out to be fake letterhead from a local hospital--at which Vlahos has never been a patient. The dentist also has medical records to prove that he does not have AIDS. It is still a mystery who typed and circulated the false memo.

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