A lawsuit which Auður Laxness filed earlier this year against Hannes Hólmstein Gissurarson, professor at the University of Iceland, was dismissed in Reykjavík District Court today.
Auður Laxness is the widow of author and Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness. Her complaint against Hannes Hólmstein cited 120 counts of alleged infraction of copyright of the late author’s works in Hannes Hólmstein’s biography of Halldór, published last year.
The case was dismissed since the plaintiff’s complaint was “inadequately prepared” in the opinion of the Court. The plaintiff was instructed to reimburse the defendant to the extent of ISK 500 thousand in legal costs.
Under Icelandic law, Auður can appeal the finding to Iceland’s Supreme Court or choose to file a new, revised complaint before the District Court.
Hannes Hólmstein has offered to rewrite his biography with consideration to Halldór Laxness’s family’s objections to his text.
