“Dr. Phil” can have access to documents about two brothers who were once suspected in the case of an Alabama teenager who vanished while on vacation in Aruba, a judge ruled Wednesday.
The documents were sought as part of the talk show’s defense against the brothers who sued last year, claiming defamation, fraud and invasion of privacy.
Deepak and Satish Kalpoe claim the “Dr. Phil” show altered portions of a secretly recorded conversation between Deepak Kalpoe and a private investigator to “create false, incriminating, and defamatory statements that the plaintiffs engaged in criminal activity against Natalee Holloway.”
The Sept. 15, 2005, episode of the show alleged the brothers gave Holloway a date-rape drug and had group sex with her, the suit contended.
CBS and Dr. Phil McGraw claimed that documents existed in which the Kalpoes acknowledged having sex with the girl — which they have denied. Attorneys for the defendants sought the documents and also e-mails between the brothers and others regarding the case.
The brothers’ attorneys said Aruban authorities had much of the information being sought and that the authorities had refused to release it.
In granting access, Superior Court Judge Edward A. Ferns said the documents “are relevant to the most fundamental issues in this case.”
A message seeking comment on the decision was left at the office of attorneys for the brothers. It was not immediately returned Wednesday.
A call to an attorney for McGraw also was not immediately returned.
Holloway, a high school student, was 18 when she vanished on May 30, 2005, during a trip to the Caribbean resort island. The Kalpoes were arrested in connection with her disappearance but were later released and have not been charged with a crime.
Also Wednesday, the judge denied a motion to dismiss the estate of a private investigator from the lawsuit.
Jamie Skeeters, who died on Jan. 24, secretly videotaped the interview with Deepak Kalpoe that was used on the “Dr. Phil” segment, the lawsuit contended.
In June, another Los Angeles judge dismissed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Kalpoes by Holloway’s parents. The judge ruled that the case has no California connection and the courts lacked jurisdiction over the brothers.
