SHORT TAKES : Newton Libel Case Appeal Set

LAS VEGAS — Attorneys for NBC News and entertainer Wayne Newton are due back in court in Pasadena April 13 to argue a landmark libel case.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals set the hearing to determine whether to reverse a $5.3-million libel award to the Las Vegas entertainer. Newton filed suit against NBC News nine years ago, claiming that network reports linked him to organized crime figures and tainted his reputation. The case went to trial in October of 1986 and a jury awarded Newton a record $19.2 million in damages in December of 1986.

That amount was reduced to $5.3 million by U.S. District Judge Myron Crocker of Fresno, who presided over the Las Vegas trial. NBC has since appealed.