Courtney Love not guilty in libel case

Rocker Courtney Love has been found not guilty of libelling her former attorney.

After a week-long trial in Los Angeles, the former Hole star emerged victorious on Friday afternoon (24Jan14) after a jury ruled in favor of the singer, who stood accused of libelling lawyer Rhonda Holmes in a 2010 tweet.

Love suggested Holmes took a bribe when she backed out of a legal battle her then-client Love was waging with the managers of her late husband Kurt Cobain's estate.

The jury deliberated for just over three hours on Friday before handing down a verdict of not guilty, adding it was clear Love wrote the tweet but that the plaintiff did not prove that the rocker knew the statement was false.

Speaking outside court, Love, who missed the verdict due to "traffic", said, "I'm really happy", adding she was delighted not to be on the wrong end of an $8 million libel pay-out: "It's not in my purse!"

Throughout the trial Love and her lawyers maintained that the singer and actress meant for the Twitter.com post to be a private message.