BURBANK MAN SUES SIMON RETIRED OFFICER SAYS USE OF DAVIS PHOTO WAS SLANDEROUS.Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer A Burbank man pictured in a photograph used by Bill Simon William Edward Simon, Jr. (born June 20, 1951), best known as Bill Simon, is an American businessman and politician. In 2002, Simon campaigned unsuccessfully for Governor of California as a Republican against Democratic incumbent Gray Davis. in his campaign against Gov. Gray Davis filed a $100 million slander and defamation lawsuit Friday against the GOP gubernatorial candidate. Al Angele, a retired Burbank police officer and former head of the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs, claims his reputation was damaged and that he suffered humiliation, anxiety, sleeplessness and heart problems by Simon's claims that the photograph showed Davis accepting an illegal $10,000 donation. Simon was later forced to retract TO RETRACT. To withdraw a proposition or offer before it has been accepted. 2. This the party making it has a right to do is long as it has not been accepted; for no principle of law or equity can, under these circumstances, require him to persevere in it. the allegation. ``We filed this lawsuit to vindicate Mr. Angele's reputation - we're going to set the record straight,'' said Angele's attorney, Stephen Solomon. Ed Rollins Ed Rollins (born March 19, 1943) is a Republican campaign consultant and advisor who has worked on a number of high profile political campaigns in the United States. Edward Rollins was born in Boston, Massachusetts. There, he was raised in a Democratic household. , a senior strategist for Simon, called the lawsuit frivolous and possibly politically motivated. He said Simon has sent a letter of apology to Angele - a letter Angele said he never received. ``We made a mistake,'' Rollins said. ``We are sorry for embarrassing this man, and we attempted to apologize.'' At a news conference Friday, Angele said Simon's ``false and slanderous statements'' had damaged his reputation and that he was seeking $100 million - $75 million for punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. and $25 million for emotional distress emotional distress n. an increasingly popular basis for a claim of damages in lawsuits for injury due to the negligence or intentional acts of another. Originally damages for emotional distress were only awardable in conjunction with damages for actual physical harm. , pain and suffering. Solomon says Simon never apologized to Angele, and that the GOP nominee had been reckless throughout the episode. ``We alleged that this was done maliciously, with reckless disregard reckless disregard n. grossly negligent without concern for danger to others. Actually reckless disregard is redundant since reckless means there is a disregard for safety. (See: reckless) of whether it was truthful,'' Solomon said. Simon's attorneys, who also attended the news conference, brushed off the accusations. ``The case has no legal merit and won't survive more than one court appearance,'' said attorney Neil Shapiro. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion