The judge assigned to manage a lawsuit brought against Kim Kardashian by a man who alleges she defamed him by mistakenly posting his photo as being that of a man awaiting execution at the time in Texas in 2024 has stepped down from the case at the plaintiff’s request.
Ivan Cantu’s still unofficial Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also alleges false light invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. He seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The case was originally assigned to Judge Dean J. Kitchens, but on Wednesday the judge removed himself after Cantu filed court papers stating that he did not want Kitchens to preside over the case. Cantu did not have to state his reasons.
The lawsuit was reassigned to Judge Michael Small, whose existing caseload includes that of Alexandra Zarini’s lawsuit against members of the Aldo Gucci family. Zarini, one of Gucci’s granddaughters, alleges she was sexually abused from ages 6 to 22 by her stepfather, Joseph Ruffalo.
Small also managed the late Phil Spector’s estate proceedings when the judge was in probate court.
According to the lawsuit brought Feb. 20, plaintiff Cantu is a New York resident and is not awaiting execution. Kardashian’s mistaken posting of his photo on Instagram, where she has 350 million followers, and elsewhere in February 2024 has exposed him to “hatred, contempt and/or ridicule,” the suit states.
Kardashian, 44, was trying to let the public know about the pending execution of a Texas inmate with the same name as the plaintiff and asked her followers to sign a petition requesting that the local district attorney withdraw the scheduled execution date. However, the inmate Cantu was executed the same month as Kardashian’s postings.