Paris Hilton to face judgment

Socialite and reality-TV star Paris Hilton will get her day in court, whether or not she wants it. A slander suit filed by fellow heiress Zeta Graff will be heard on September 18 unless the two settle out of court before then.

Graff, a Greek actress and heir to a diamond fortune, filed the $10 million suit last summer after she says Hilton told "vicious lies" about her to media outlets. In the suit, Graff says Hilton called the New York Post in July 2005 and told them Graff flew into a jealous rage in a London dance club because Hilton was engaged at the time to Graff's ex, shipping heir Paris Latsis. In the story leaked to the press, Graff reportedly strangled Hilton and tried to rip her diamond necklace off her neck.

In a November 2005 deposition with Graff's lawyers, Hilton admitted the incident never took place, but denies she was the one who spread the lies. She says that on the night in question, she did have a run-in with Graff but it was nothing like the phoney story leaked to the tabloids.

"I just said to her...she is old and should stay at home with her child instead of being at night clubs with young people. And just that--I just--what else did I say? Just that she is not cute at all," Hilton said on record.

Elsewhere in the deposition, Hilton is asked if she knew the false story had been reprinted in UK newspapers, to which she replied, "No, there was stuff in London but not the UK."

When asked if she could remember the name of a companion on the night in question, she said, "It is like a weird Greek name. Like Douglas."

Hilton blames her publicist, Rob Shuter, for spreading the fake story. Shuter admitted in a December 16 depostion that he planted the story in the New York Post, but he claimed he was acting on Hilton's orders. Shuter says, "She was very clear that this story needed to go her way...[and that] we needed to get this out immediately." Hilton vehemently denies this accusation.

The parties may resolve the case out of court before May 15, but Graff says they are ready to fight it in court if necessary. She tells the Post, "I look forward to her explaining all of this to the jury."

Recently, Hilton was also slapped with a restraining orderby a Los Angeles party planner who claims she called him a "lazy Mexican."

In other Paris Hilton news, Fox announced that plans are under way to begin filming the fourth season of her reality show, The Simple Life, in which she stars with Nicole Ritchie. The two former friends, who have been in a bitter feud for almost a year, will have their scenes filmed seperately.