Jerry Seinfeld has raised a "comic effect" defense in a slander case brought against him by the author of the cookbook "The Sneaky Chef."

Missy Chase Lapine sued both Seinfeld and his wife last month on claims arising from the publication of Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook "Deceptively Delicious." Not only does the book plagiarize "The Sneaky Chef," Lapine alleged, but Jerry Seinfeld defamed her by suggesting on the "David Letterman Show" that she is a "'wacko' celebrity stalker."

In an answer to the complaint filed today, Seinfeld insists he was only joking. Anyone hearing his comments about Lapine, he says, "would readily have recognized that he was not making statements of fact but overstatements of opinion for comic effect."

As for Lapine's copyright infringement claims, the Seinfelds argue that they are based on "trivial and unprotectible aspects" of her work and that her "actions, including the commencement of this litigation, constitute copyright misuse."

2/22/08