Firm Pays $25M in Princess Di Dispute

Finally, one Princess Diana controversy can be put to rest: In 1998, L.A. firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips sued The Franklin Mint—a private company considered to be the best source of heirloom collectibles—on behalf of Lady Diana's memorial fund, accusing the company of false advertising and disgracing Diana's name with its memorial plates, purses, and dolls. But now, after a 13-year legal battle that began one year after Princess Diana died in a car crash, it's Manatt, Phelps & Phillips that must pay The Franklin Mint, owing to a malicious prosecution counter lawsuit. "We never sought to gain financially from this effort, but we strongly believed in the underlying legal principles in this case and were prepared to see it through," said Stewart Resnick, a former Franklin Mint owner with his wife Lynda. The couple announced they would donate the money to charity, as they did with their portion of a previous $25 million settlement from The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.