Orange County appeals court ruling that ordered county to defend legislators facing possible defamation lawsuit
The county said the officials would have to pay to defend themselves, claiming their statements were not part of their job. The court ruling overturned that decision.
More Stories
Orange County is appealing a Supreme Court ruling last month ordering Orange County and Legislative Chair Katherine Bonelli to defend four Democratic legislators if they’re sued for speaking out against a controversial internet-technology contract for a top county official’s relative.
Michale Anagnostakis, Michael Paduch, Genesis Ramos and Laurie Tautel publicly raised concerns last year about a six-figure, no-bid contract for the county commissioner of human resources’ brother-in-law, Isaac Sacolick, and his company, StarCIO LLC.
Sacolick served them with legal notices in January that he planned to sue for defamation over statements the officials allegedly made during a news conference with Sen. James Skoufis about his personal finances and home being in foreclosure. The county said the officials would have to pay to defend themselves, claiming their statements were not part of their job.
The court ruling overturned that decision.
“I’m so grateful that Judge {Timothy} Mcelduff was able to see through the political theater and quite frankly, the blatant abuse of power by the chairwoman and those that supported this decision,” Legislator Genesis Ramos said shortly after the ruling.
Ramos and the officials’ attorney, Michael Sussman, received notice of the appeal, which also seeks to reverse the decision ordering the county to pay for the legislators’ legal and court costs associated with the Supreme Court action.
Their exposure of the contract sparked the creation of an Orange County task force to investigate the so-called sweetheart contract, which found it was awarded improperly but without criminality. According to an official source, it also prompted the FBI to investigate and issue subpoenas to several county officials during the federal probe.
The legislators say Sacolick has yet to file the lawsuit against them. News 12 reached out to Bonelli and Orange County Attorney Rick Golden for comment. Golden confirmed the appeal and referred any additional questions to the Legislature. Bonelli has not responded to News 12's request for information.
