The Region - News from Dec. 18, 1985

Author William Peter Blatty’s $6-million civil suit claiming that the New York Times wrongly omitted his book “Legion” from its influential best-seller list has been reinstated by an appellate court. Blatty’s attorney, Richard Coleman, noting that the newspaper “has life-and-death power over authors,” said the unanimous decision by the 2nd District Court of Appeal, announced in Los Angeles, means the case can move forward. Blatty, author of “The Exorcist,” claimed in the 1983 suit that the book sold enough copies to merit inclusion on the list. Attorney Richard Levy, representing the newspaper, contended in court filings that publicity is the motive behind Blatty’s suit.