Harry Potter Has Magical Day in Court

By Stephen M. Silverman

Thursday September 19, 2002 01:00 PM EDT

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A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected a claim by Pennsylvania-based children's author Nancy Stouffer that she was plagiarized by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling -- and he has fined Stouffer $50,000, saying she "perpetuated a fraud," the Associated Press reports.

"The court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that Stouffer has perpetuated a fraud ... through her submission of fraudulent documents as well as through her untruthful testimony," U.S. District Judge Allen G. Schwartz opined in his decision Tuesday.

The jurist found only minimal similarities between Rowling's multimillion-selling fantasy series (which began in 1997) and books by Stouffer, who said that she wrote several books in the 1980s, including "The Legend of Rah and the Muggles," and a series of "Larry Potter" stories.

On her Web site, Stouffer reportedly claimed that each title had a first printing of 100,000 and had all sold out within a week.

"We were surprised and disappointed with the decision," Stouffer's attorney, Thomas McNamara, told the AP. "We were particularly troubled by the court's determination that she submitted falsified evidence. She adamantly denies that."

The judge questioned whether Stouffer created the "Larry Potter" character before Rowling's series debuted. In addition, the court reportedly found that Stouffer had produced invoices for sales that never took place and submitted an advertisement from the 1980s that was later altered to include the word "Muggles."

"We never had any doubt that Harry Potter and his world came from the rich and extraordinary imagination of J.K. Rowling," Scholastic president Barbara Marcus said in a statement Wednesday.