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DEVIL MADE 'ER DO IT? Smith, Stern

Could Anna Nicole Smith's lover-slash-enabler be held liable for her demise? Stranger things have happened.

For expert opinion, we turned to Florida trial attorney and television commentator Michelle Suskauer.

"To have a culpable negligence case on behalf of Dannielynn, you'd need a state attorney in Broward County [Florida] with the gumption to bring it," Suskauer said. "Civilly, there would be a much lower burden of proof to show negligence on behalf of the baby. Criminally, there's a much higher burden of proof. Could it be wanton or reckless endangerment or culpable negligence? I think so."

In an unreleased video viewed by Radar, Smith expresses her extreme fears about giving birth to Dannielynn and, at nine months pregnant, is clearly sky high.

Who'd be likely to mount such a suit? Larry Birkhead, perhaps? "Sure!" says Suskauer, adding that any of Smith's would-be baby daddies, if proven to be the girl's father, could sue on her behalf. Whoever it is, "I can clearly see a civil case coming down the pike," she adds.

Devoted tabloid readers will recall last year's Bear Mountain minivan case, in which philandering husband Victor Han was charged with "aiding and abetting" his wife, Heijin Han, who drove off a 200-foot cliff in upstate New York with her children in the backseat.

And he wasn't even feeding her methadone.

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Photo: Nicholsa Del Pesco/PatrickMcMullan.com

By Maureen Seaberg   03/02/07 3:19 PM
Related: Anna Nicole, Larry Birkhead, Top, Victor Han
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