by Michael Mata
There appears to be no end in sight for Shannen Doherty’s health and legal troubles. Her former manager, Steven Blatt, wants her deposition to be extended.
Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in February last year. Her diagnosis was made public in August 2015 after she filed a lawsuit against Blatt and her former management company for mismanaging her insurance premiums. Doherty claims that Blatt allowed her insurance premiums to lapse, which prevented her from seeing a doctor. This in turn led to a delay in her cancer diagnosis.
According to TMZ, Blatt’s legal team wants Doherty’s deposition to be extended even though the actress has already participated in a seven-hour deposition, which is the standard in California. Blatt has filed documents requesting to have Doherty deposed for up to four more hours.
Blatt alleges that Doherty is healthy enough to take part in the extended deposition because her illness has not stopped her from traveling, partying, or giving interviews. According to documents obtained by TMZ, Blatt claims that during the days before and after her initial deposition, Doherty posted pictures on social media of herself partying in New York and Pittsburgh. The actress even travelled to Australia for a fan convention.
Doherty has fired back in legal documents, saying it’s insulting that it’s been implied she isn’t sick enough because she is trying to live a full life. She feels that the seven-hour deposition was enough and doesn’t owe the defendants any more time—a matter which will now be decided by a judge.
Doherty alleges that her former management company ignored an invoice for payment of her premium in early 2014. By the time she re-enrolled, doctors discovered she had "invasive breast cancer metastatic to at least one lymph node."
Her legal team believes that the cancer would have been easier to treat had it been detected earlier, but she failed to get a check-up because she didn’t have health insurance.
