Bad Publicity. (Law).

The former chief executive of now-defunct Ceryx Inc. of Santa Paula sued the Los Angeles Times and its parent company, Tribune Co., for libel and defamation, claiming a Dec. 5, 2000 story about the company caused her to resign and forced the company to file for bankruptcy protection.

Dorriah Page, who resigned before Ceryx filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection Nov. 6, 2001, filed the lawsuit Dec. 4 in Los Angeles Superior Court. In the lawsuit, Page says the L.A. Times, the reporters and editors of the story, accused her of lying about her educational background and previous work experience. The article also said Page lied about obtaining patents on certain products of Ceryx, which made low-emission diesel catalytic converters.

The article caused Dow Chemical Co. to end its deals with Ceryx and the California Energy Commission to hold back a grant to the company, the lawsuit asserts.

L.A. Times spokesman David Garcia declined to comment.