Casey Anthony civil lawsuits the focus of hearing in Tampa - WKMG

Casey Anthony civil lawsuits the focus of hearing in Tampa

11:09 AM, May 30, 2013

Tampa, Florida (WKMG) -- A judge could decide at a hearing Thursday whether two lawsuits against Casey Anthony can proceed.

Zenaida Gonzalez and Roy Kronk are suing Anthony, who has filed for bankruptcy, for defamation.

Gonzalez and Kronk want the judge to delay the deadline to object to the bankruptcy until after their civil lawsuits are decided.

Gonzalez and Kronk want the trials held in state circuit court, where they were originally filed. If the civil cases must proceed before her debts are discharged, Anthony's attorneys prefer the civil cases be handled in federal court.

Anthony filed for Chapter 7 protection in January in Tampa, claiming $1,000 in assets and nearly $800,000 in liabilities. Gonzalez and Kronk were listed as creditors and their cases were put on hold.

Anthony was acquitted of murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee, in 2011 in Orlando. She initially claimed in 2008 that a nanny by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez kidnapped Caylee. At trial three years later, however, Anthony's lead attorney, Jose Baez, said Caylee drowned in a swimming pool at the Anthony family home.

Gonzalez says her reputation was ruined because she was linked to the case by having a very similar name to the fictitious nanny.

Kronk, an Orange County meter reader who found Caylee's remains, claims his reputation was harmed when Anthony's attorneys wrongly implicated him in the Caylee's death.

Anthony's civil attorneys say both lawsuits are frivolous.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/319102/8/Casey-Anthony-civil-suits-the-focus-of-hearing