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Anne Nicole Smith's next husband better like her for her TrimSpa'd body, because that's about all she has going for her
right now. A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out a lower court judge's 2002 ruling that awarded Smith $88.5
million of her late billionaire husband's fortune. Smith and Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II famously married in 1994
after meeting at a strip club--she was 26 and he was 89. He died 14 months later. The former Playboy playmate and star
of E!'s Anna Nicole Show had claimed she was entitled to the multimillion-dollar "gift" because her 90-year-old hubby
promised to take care of her before he passed away. In March 2002, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter agreed with Smith,
saying she was indeed owed the cash. In Carter's 80-page ruling, he said that although the relationship of Smith and Marshall
was "driven by greed and lust" the judge was "convinced of [Marshall's] love for her." By making his decision, Carter overturned
a Texas state probate court that had earlier deemed one of the oilman's sons, E. Pierce Marshall, the sole heir
to the estate, effectively shutting out Smith. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that Carter overstepped his judicial authority in even hearing the case three years ago. In the new decision, the appellate
judges wrote, "It is undisputed that Texas law governs the 1982 trust and the last will and testament of J. Howard Marshall."
Pierce Marshall has been adamantly opposed to giving Smith a cut of his father's money, claiming the elder Marshall was manipulated
by the sexy Smith and had been milked out of nearly $7 million worth of gifts when he was senile and dying. During their nine-year
inheritance feud, the younger Marshall has accused "Miss Cleavage" (as he calls her) of trying to pocket a plus-sized amount
of late husband's change, even though she was not mentioned in any of the tycoon's six wills. Thursday's ruling from
the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is a serious blow to Smith's hope of claiming any money from Marshall's estate. Smith's attorney,
Phillip Boesch, said he might appeal the decision to the entire 9th Circuit Court; if that failed, his only other hope would
be an unlikely hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court. Smith, now 37, could not be reached for comment on the ruling Thursday.
While Smith watches a life of luxury slip away, a jubilant Pierce Marshall applauded the decision. "After nine years of litigation,"
he said in a statement, "I'm very pleased by the judgment issued by the 9th Circuit upholding my father's wishes regarding
disposition of his assets." This is not the first time the buxom beauty has experienced a court-related reversal of fortune.
In 2000, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded her a massive $474 million chunk of her late husband's estate; however, that
ruling was overturned in 2001.
Jealous that Paris is getting all the attention with her homemade porn stints, it seems that Nicky
Hilton, 21, wanted to make a headline or two herself this year.
According to Us Weekly, word has it that Nicky and her husband of not even two months, Todd Meister, 33,
are seeking an annulment because, she decided, she's not ready to be a wife. Smart -- she decided that after wedding
the Meister.
For two heiresses, it seems these sisters aren't very bright. Like, you know what I mean? I mean, like, making porn and
getting divorced every couple of months, does not, like, make a person respectable. You know what I mean? You know what I'm
saying? Like, that's hot.
Marey Carey, who has managed to steer clear of the tabloids of late, is in the news because -- get this
-- she's almost broke. When Virgin gave her $28 mil to "go away" in 2001, one would've thought that she'd be rolling in the
dough, but oh no. Considering her $7,200 a day hairdresser and makeup artist, it's a wonder she has enough money to eat.
Lucky for her, her 10th album, this time with Def Jam Records, is set for release in March 2005, and her first single,
entitled "Say Something" features both Pharrell Williams and Snoop Dogg, who probably managed to double-team
her before the video shoot.
Party girl Lindsay Lohan is living it up on the club scene with a potentially new love interest following her
startling loss of weight in recent weeks.
A source tells Star that Lohan said she started to transform after
she saw a picture of her thighs that she was unhappy about in a national magazine's September issue.
"She said she
saw the picture and thought her legs looked huge," the source said. "It looks like she went on a crash diet after that. Then
a few weeks later, I heard she was in the hospital."
Her weight loss comes at a hectic time for Lohan, 18. She was
hospitalized for five days in October with a high fever. She broke up with her flame of six months Wilmer Valderrama,
24, on Nov. 6. She just finished filming her new movie Herbie: Fully Loaded, which is due out in June. And her new
pop album, Speak -- which is being well received by critics -- hit stores Dec. 7. On top of that, she just filmed an
accompanying music video for a song on the album called "Rumors."
Even so, she's keeping up a full party schedule.
On Thursday, Dec. 2, she dined with friends at trendy Megu restaurant in New York City before heading to club Marquee, where
eyewitnesses say they saw Lohan dancing and smoking. Later, surrounded by several male admirers -- one gallantly shielded
her from a fan with a camera -- she cozied up to six-foot-tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed male model Clarence Fuller,
26, who struts for agency L.A. Models. Around 2 a.m., the group moved to club Suede, where the slender starlet held court
at a table and danced with a guy in a white hat.
Friday, the actress took it a little easier, opting to meet with
old friends from New York's Long Island, where she grew up. But the next night, it was back to New York City again, with an
intimate dinner with Fuller at downtown restaurant Vela and late-night fun at Marquee. "She looked very into Clarence," an
eyewitness tells Star.
When we asked Lohan's rep, Leslie Sloan, about Fuller, she told us the starlet is still
"completely single" and was just out with friends. As for the weight, Sloan said Lohan has only lost "8 to 10 pounds" and
denies that a photo fuelled it.
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