'Absurd' ban on Letterman lifted

Letterman is one of the most popular presenters in the US

A judge in New Mexico has lifted a restraining order on talk show host David Letterman sought by a woman who said he sent her coded messages by TV.

The Santa Fe resident had obtained the order on the grounds that Mr Letterman had caused her mental cruelty for 11 years, forcing her to go bankrupt.

Lawyers for the TV host, who records his shows in New York, dismissed the claims as "absurd and frivolous".

The same judge who granted the ban accepted their request to quash it.

In her request filed on 15 December, Colleen Nestler asked for Mr Letterman to stay at least three metres (yards) away from her and not "think of me, and release me from his mental harassment and hammering".

She accused the host of using code words, gestures and "eye expressions" to send her messages since she began sending him "thoughts of love" after his Late Show programme began in 1993.

One alleged message was for Ms Nestler to come east to New York to be trained as the Late Show's co-host.

'I'll break their legs'

In court on Tuesday, a lawyer for the talk show host, Pat Rogers, argued that his client was "entitled to a protection of his legal rights and a protection of his reputation".

He also said that the New Mexico court had no jurisdiction over Mr Letterman, a resident of Connecticut.

Questioned by Judge Daniel Sanchez, Ms Nestler, who defended herself in court, said she had no proof of the alleged messages from Mr Letterman.

She added that if Mr Letterman or any of his representatives came near her, she would "break their legs" but denied after the hearing that she was making a threat.

She had, she said, achieved her purpose since "the public knows that this man cannot come near me".