Oprah clears her schedule for defamation case

Oprah Winfrey has rearranged her television production schedule in the expectation of spending two weeks in Philadelphia fending off defamation charges.

If the suit, by the former headmaster of Winfrey's South African school, can be settled out of court, a hint could come Friday when attorneys appear before U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno for a pretrial conference.

As of now, Winfrey and Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane are scheduled to appear Monday, March 29, in Robreno's 11th-floor courtroom at Sixth and Market streets, a block from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

Mzamane was the headmistress of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls until allegations in October 2007 that a dormitory matron sexually assaulted six girls.

The disclosure of Winfrey's preparation to spend the second and third weeks of spring in Philadelphia is contained in a court document filed by her attorneys.

"Ms. Winfrey has rearranged the entire production schedule of her daily television show in order to be present (as she must as a named party) for the two-week trial," said the document filed by her Houston attorney, Charles L. Babcock.

He also included a plea to adhere to that 14-day schedule.

"Should the trial last longer than two weeks, the disruption to the show and monetary cost will be severe because audiences will have to be rescheduled (and many people travel to Chicago for the sole purpose of attending the show), guests will need to be rebooked, and production staff will have to be rescheduled (possibly on overtime)."

Mzamane's suit says Winfrey defamed her at a parents meeting in South Africa and a broadcast press conference. Among the Winfrey statements cited is this comment:

"I said to the girls that any person that has caused harm to any of them will no longer be allowed to work at this this school." By that time, Mzamane had been suspended. Later, her contract was not renewed.

In a court filing, Winfrey is quoted as saying in her pre-trial deposition that she does not believe Mzamane was responsible for the alleged abuse.

"If I had believed that [Mzamane] was responsible, I would, with the voice that I have, I would have used it and that's what I would have said."

Mzamane's attorney, Timothy McGowan of Philadelphia, said Thursday that neither he nor Babcock will be commenting on the case in advance of the trial. Babcock's office said he is not giving interviews.

Winfrey's witness list includes 26 people, among them Winfrey herself, and five students from South Africa, who are identified only by their initials.

Mzamane's original list included more than 50 people, among them Bishop Desmond Tutu, but her lawyers have promised to whittle that to a handful.

Mzamane, a native of Lesotho who was educated at Cornell University, claims Winfrey's remarks damaged her reputation and prevented her from obtaining a post working with children. She now works in Kenya.

Mzamane has been ruled a "limited purpose" public figure, which means the threshold for her to prove defamation will be less than that demanded by an elected official but more than a purely private citizen.

The case was filed in Philadelphia because Mzamane keeps a residence here. She was an administrator at the Germantown Friend's School before Winfrey recruited her for the post as the South African school, which opened in January 2007.

In October 2007, dorm matron Virginia "Tiny" Makopo was charged with 13 counts of indecent assault, assault, and criminal injury. Her alleged victims included six girls, 13 to 15, and a 23-year-old coworker.