CV Councilman Misused Legal Defense Fund to Raise $90,000, Appears to Violate State & Local Laws
By Alberto Garcia
Chula Vista politician John McCann used a legal defense fund to recoup legal fees he owed from a 2014 defamation lawsuit he filed – and he appears to have violated state and local election laws by using a legal defense fund to file a lawsuit, not defend one.
McCann, a registered Republican, ran for election to the Chula Vista City Council in 2014 against former Mayor Steve Padilla, a Democrat. McCann won by only two votes in the November 2014 General Election.
Just weeks before that election, McCann filed a defamation lawsuit against a San Diego labor union claiming one of its campaign mailers was defamatory. McCann, as the plaintiff, named the union, its leader, and its campaign committee as defendants.
LOS ANGELES â Bryan Callen has abandoned his quest to sue the husband of a woman who says the comedian raped her.
On Monday, Callenâs attorney filed a request asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss Callenâs lawsuit against Gabriel Tigerman, whose wife, Katherine Fiore Tigerman, claims that Callen sexually assaulted her in 1999. Fiore Tigerman was one of four women who described Callenâs alleged misconduct in a July 2020 Los Angeles Times investigation; the stand-up comic adamantly denied all of their accounts.
Less than two months after The Times story was published, Callen launched a legal effort to seek unspecified damages from Gabriel Tigerman, who Callen claimed intended âto have Mr. Callen blacklisted, destitute, [and] never to work again,â according to his September 2020 complaint.
Bryan Callen seeks to drop suit against accuser s husband Gabriel Tigerman latimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from latimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
So, does the fear of losing money in a lawsuit dictate what news organizations will report and what they won’t?
No. As a former journalist and now scholar and practitioner of media law, I believe there are enough safeguards built into First Amendment jurisprudence to shut down liars and still protect robust debate of opposing viewpoints in America.
‘Steep hill to climb’
In a landmark First Amendment case almost 60 years ago, New York Times v. Sullivan, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that in the rush to gather and disseminate news, it is understandable that a news reporter may miss an important fact or interpret something wrong. Because preserving a free and robust exchange of ideas is vital to democracy, the court said it is worth the risk that some falsehoods may mistakenly be printed, and the press shouldn’t be punished for it.
Why lawsuits against the media may not hurt freedom of the press theconversation.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theconversation.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.