Senior District Judge Charles Thompson rewarded the lawyers in the Lampros SLAPP case but left the defendants high and dry in a six page ruling Friday.
Attorneys for Julie Cavanaugh-Bill and Jeff Dickerson received $8,000 for their work in getting White Pine County Commissioner John Lampros thrown out of court. But their clients James Adams, Cheryl Noriega and Tim McGowan got nothing from Thompson.
In their original motion the lawyers had asked for about $9,000 in attorneys’ fees as well as $10,000 to each of the clients in the form of a an anti-SLAPP fine recently allowed by the state.
This summer Adams, Noriega and McGowan all White Pine County residents filed a notice of recall against White Pine County Commissioners Mike Lemich and Lampros. Two weeks later Lampros and Lemich filed defamation suits claiming that the allegations in the recall petitions were in fact lies and that slander had damaged them financially and politically.
In response to the defamation suit the three asked the Judge to dismiss the suit on the grounds that they were so called SLAPP actions.
As defined by the Nevada Bar Association: A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP suit, is abusive litigation where a plaintiff brings a legally questionable claim in order to punish the defendant for exercising his or her First Amendment rights. Often, these suits are based upon defamation and other claims arising from expressive conduct. The purpose of a SLAPP suit is not necessarily to win, but to inflict the punishment of litigation itself.
Last October Thompson did indeed find the whole of Lampros’ suit met the definition of the SLAPP law but kept parts of Lemich’s claims legally alive at least for the time being.
In a separate ruling Thompson agreed with the defendants that three of Lemich’s claims to slander did indeed meet the definition of a SLAPP suit.
However the judge also rule that four did not.
click for ruling:ruling
It is important to note the Thompson did not rule on the veracity of Lemich’s claims that he was slandered, only that four of the allegations were not on the face obviously false or that the defendants made them in bad faith. That determination the judge pointed out may be for a jury to decide.
The judge ruled that the claim Lemich was under investigation for theft did not meet the SLAPP definition and that it would not be dismissed at least in regards to the SLAPP motion.
He also ruled that the allegations of slander regarding the Dismantling of the County Fire and EMS services was a SLAPP suit and thus dismissed. However the judge refused to dismiss the slander charges on the allegations that Lemich caused the county commission to commit violations of state statutes.
In addition Thompson refused to dismiss slander charges regarding the Lemich had a conflict of interest regarding the county land exchange with Midway Gold and that he had a vendetta against the Ely Airport. On of the three defendants in the suit James Adams is the manager of the airport.
With the mixed ruling the defendants can either appeal or they can seek dismissal on other grounds besides claiming SLAPP.
Late last year, Lemich did indeed re filed the portions of his suit in district court.
click for Lemich re-filing: CV13071132ND
The timing of the suit as well as the timing of Thompson’s original ruling also became issues since the fines asked for by the defense only became legal after October 1, 2013. Well after the SLAPP suit was filed but before the ruling was given.
Defense lawyers argued that since the case “ended” after the dead line the fines should be given, the judge disagreed.
