A California judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Jeff Bezos that his girlfriend’s brother, Michael Sanchez, had filed over accusations revolving around leaked graphic photos of the Amazon.com Inc. founder.
Judge John P. Doyle, of Los Angeles County Superior Court, on Thursday said Mr. Sanchez’s allegations relied on hearsay—what he had heard from reporters—and didn’t count as admissible evidence. The judge threw out Mr. Sanchez’s defamation claim and a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The allegations in the lawsuit revolved around a January 2019 article in the National Enquirer that made public an affair between Lauren Sanchez—Mr. Sanchez’s sister—and Mr. Bezos, who were both married at the time. Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sanchez remain in a relationship.
In the lawsuit, filed in February, Mr. Sanchez, a talent agent, claimed that a security consultant hired by Mr. Bezos spread false statements about the public disclosure of Mr. Bezos’ affair with Ms. Sanchez. The suit also claimed that representatives of Mr. Bezos had spread false rumors to news outlets that Mr. Sanchez provided graphic nude photos of Mr. Bezos to the press.
American Media Inc., the tabloid’s then-publisher, has said in a public statement that Mr. Sanchez tipped off the tabloid about the affair and “provided all of the materials” for its investigation.
