990601 Oprah's Lawyer Opposes Beef Appeal

New Orleans, LA - Lawyers for Oprah Winfrey say cattlemen who sued the talk show host should not be allowed to retry their claims in state court.

Last year, a federal jury in Amarillo, Texas, ruled Ms. Winfrey did not defame the beef industry when a guest on her show in 1996 said there was a risk U.S. beef could spread mad cow disease.

But the case should never have been tried in federal court, Joseph F. Coyne Jr., an attorney representing cattleman Paul Engler, told the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.

Ms. Winfrey's attorney, Charles Babcock, argued the verdict should be upheld and the case shouldn't go back to state court for a retrial.

“It's only now that they lost the jury verdict ... that they are coming back and saying the court doesn't have jurisdiction,” he said.

The federal appeals court did not immediately rule at the hearing, which Ms. Winfrey did not attend.

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