Bertram Fields

Judith Regan, the book publisher who was fired from HarperCollins last December amidst controversy over her acquisition of O.J. Simpson’s If I Did It, was scheduled to file a libel and breach of contract lawsuit today against HarperCollins, its CEO Jane Friedman, and its parent company News Corporation, according to Ms. Regan’s lawyer Bertram Fields.

Mr. Fields, who is based in Los Angeles, said he is not representing Ms. Regan in the suit. He did work on the case "in the beginning," but has since handed the reins over to Brian Kerr of New York-based firm Dreier LLP. (Gawker posted an anonymous letter earlier this afternoon incorrectly stating that the firm Milberg Weiss is handling the case.)

Mr. Fields said Ms. Regan’s suit “was to be filed today” but could not confirm that it actually was.

News Corp. spokesman Andrew Butcher said News Corp. was not aware of the suit.

“We don’t have it,” he said. “We haven’t seen any suit.”  read more »