The recent death of author Dominick Dunne is a reminder, for certain political junkies, of the rise and fall of former San Joaquin Valley congressman Gary Condit. Condit twice filed defamation lawsuits against Dunne over comments made concerning Condit and the slain intern Chandra Levy. One of the lawsuits was settled mere hours before Condit was due to give a deposition, and the other was summarily tossed out by a judge.

But Condit v. Dunne is not the only lawsuit in which the former congressman has been entangled. There is also Baskin-Robbins v. Condit, in which the ice cream company claimed Condit breached a contract in running two Phoenix-area stores. A federal judge sided with Baskin-Robbins, potentially exposing the Condit family to more than $100,000 in damages and attorneys fees.

On Aug. 19, without fanfare, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals quickly rejected the Condits' appeal, thereby upholding Baskin-Robbins' victory. The three-judge appellate panel didn't have to deliberate too hard about this one; Condit's son Chad, hand-writing the appeal on lined paper, had missed the crucial deadline for filing.