Student sues for profits from Powell book
A University of Louisville student has sued escort Katina Powell and her publisher, saying her book, "Breaking Cardinal Rules," tarnishes the university and reduces the value of her education.
Louisville lawyer Nader George Shunnarah, who is asking that the suit be designated a class action on behalf of all U of L students, could not be reached for comment. But he told an online news site that “the goal here is to benefit students instead of the prostitute.”
The suit asks that all profits from the book be placed with a receiver in the Jefferson Circuit Court clerk's office.
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But Jon Fleischaker, a leading First Amendment attorney, said the suit, filed Thursday in Jefferson Circuit Court, is meritless and raises serious constitutional questions.
“Whatever you think of Katina Powell, she has a First Amendment right to write about whatever she wants and it appears that at least some of what she wrote is true,” said Fleischaker, who represents the Kentucky Press Association and The Courier-Journal.
“This is a silly lawsuit,” Fleischaker said.
The complaint was filed on behalf of Kyle Nicole Hornback, who said in an email that she is 19 and a sophomore.
It asks a judge to order all profits from “Breaking Cardinal Rules” placed with a receiver in the Jefferson Circuit Court clerk's office and ultimately given to U of L students.
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The book’s publisher, the Indianapolis Business Journal, which is also named as a defendant, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The suit alleges that the publication of the book alleging that Powell provided prostitutes for U of L basketball players and recruits violates Hornback's contract with U of L, to which she promised to pay tuition in exchange for an education.
Shunnarah told an online site, The Bird Cage, which first reported about the suit, that “when you commit a criminal act and it damages an entire University, your degree, the value of your degree, your ability to pay back student loans, and your ability to get a job," students should profit, rather than Powell.
The suit asks for punitive and compensatory damages, saying Hornback suffered damages “including but not by way of limitation to her degree, her ability to repay student loans and her ability to find employment after graduation.”
Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189 or awolfson@courier-journal.com.