COUNCILMAN THREATENS SLANDER SUIT ACCUSATIONS OVER MONEY GIVEN TO FUND ANGER SMITH.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE - Leaders of a neighborhood council on Monday accused City Councilman Greig Smith Greig Smith is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 12th District, which includes Granada Hills, Northridge and other parts of the Western San Fernando Valley. Smith is also a reserve officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. of trying to silence opponents by threatening to file a defamation suit over statements implying he'd been bought off by Wal-Mart. The angry exchange was prompted by comments made at a public hearing that Smith's support for a proposed Wal-Mart store, given after the company agreed to pay $166,000 into a community fund, was ``nothing short of bribery.'' Last week, Smith demanded a retraction In the law of Defamation, a formal recanting of the libelous or slanderous material. Retraction is not a defense to defamation, but under certain circumstances, it is admissible in Mitigation of Damages. Cross-references Libel and Slander. from Northridge West Neighborhood Vice President Sherry Ramstead, who made the comments, and President Jim Alger, who later repeated them. ``If you fail to comply with these requests, I will have no choice but to proceed in a manner appropriate to protect my rights and reputation,'' said letters sent to both Alger and Ramstead. The neighborhood council leaders said they were shocked by Smith's letter. ``It saddens me that Mr. Greig Smith, my councilman, feels a need to threaten me with legal action over a verbal opposition to his position on his issue,'' Ramstead said in a statement. Alger, who is running for the Keith Richman's 38th Assembly District seat, said Smith is trying to intimidate his opponents. ``It's going to have a chilling effect  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. on opposition against
Mr. Smith. People are always going to be concerned that Mr. Smith is
going to use strong-arm tactics against them and their
business.''
But Smith's chief of staff, Mitchell Englander, said Alger is attacking the councilman to heighten his own political profile. While Smith has put up with mudslinging mud·sling·er n. One who makes malicious charges and otherwise attempts to discredit an opponent, as in a political campaign. mud before, he decided to consider a lawsuit because the accusations were particularly malicious. ``We're not trying to silence anybody. The only thing we're trying to prevent is slander slander: see libel and slander. Slander See also Gossip. Slaughter (See MASSACRE.) Basile calumniating, niggardly bigot. [Fr. Lit. and lying and those kind of tactics.'' But Joshua Koltun, a San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden attorney who specializes in free- speech issues, said the neighborhood council leaders' statements are based on their opinion - that the community fund is like a bribe to win support for the project - which is protected by the First Amendment. ``The court would not let this out of the starting block start·ing block n. 1. Sports a. An apparatus that braces a runner's feet at the start of a race, consisting of two angled supports adjustably mounted on a rigid frame that is usually anchored to the track. b. and in California she (Ramstead) could probably get her attorneys' fees back'' if Smith sued her. Wal-Mart has proposed razing the former Best and Levitz buildings at Nordhoff Street and Tampa Avenue to build a 24-hour store. Some residents have opposed the project, fearing increased traffic to a congested con·gest·ed adj. Affected with or characterized by congestion. congested ENT adjective Referring to a boggy blood-filled tissue. See Nasal congestion. shopping district. Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): map Map: Proposed Wal-Mart store Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion