‘Three Cups of Tea’ Lawsuit Heads to Court

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — After settling with Montana's attorney general, Greg Mortenson now must confront accusations that he fabricated parts of his best-selling books "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones Into Schools."

Mortenson's attorney will ask a federal judge Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit that claims the author lied about how he came to build schools in Central Asia.

The lawsuit claims Mortenson, his co-author and his publisher conspired to trick readers into buying the books and donating to Mortenson's charity.

A First Amendment expert calls the lawsuit absurd. Chicago attorney Wayne Giampietro says Mortenson did not defame or harm anybody, and he does not have to justify what he wrote.

Mortenson earlier this month agreed to pay $1 million after a Montana investigation concluded he misused his charity's money and resources.