‘Pattern of harassing lawsuits’: McClatchy asks judge to dismiss Devin Nunes’ complaint
Sacramento-based newspaper publisher McClatchy fought a defamation lawsuit filed by California congressman Devin Nunes in a Virginia court on Friday, arguing the Republican’s case does not belong in the state.
“Put simply, this case is Virginia-less,” McClatchy attorney Ted Boutrous said in court.
The lawsuit is one of six that Nunes filed this year against news media companies, Twitter, a political research firm that worked for Hillary Clinton and Democratic activists.
In the McClatchy case, the Tulare Republican claims he was defamed by a 2018 news story published by The Fresno Bee that described an employee’s lawsuit against a winery in which Nunes holds a limited partnership. The employee claimed she was asked to work at a charity function on a yacht that became uncomfortable when guests appeared to use drugs and hire prostitutes.
Nunes’ lawsuit says that McClatchy and Republican strategist Liz Mair, a former Virginia resident, conspired to defame him by sharing the story on social media.
McClatchy has called the lawsuit a “baseless attack on local journalism.” The news company argues the case should be heard in a California court if it moves forward.
Judge Cheryl Higgins declined to rule on McClatchy’s motion to dismiss the case from Virginia in court, saying she felt a written order was necessary. She said an order would be issued no later than Feb. 9.
Nunes filed three of his lawsuits in Virginia circuit courts. McClatchy owns 30 news organizations in 29 cities, none of which circulate in Virginia.
Boutrous argued to Higgins that Nunes had engaged in “a pattern of harassing lawsuits he has brought in Virginia ... meant to chill speech about a public official.”
Boutrous contended Nunes filed the McClatchy case there “to add to the burden of defending the lawsuit.”
Nunes’ lawyer, Steven Biss, took “great issue” with Boutrous saying the lawsuits showed a pattern of harassment, saying Nunes was rightfully defending himself.
“The oldest of all common law individual rights was the absolute protection of your name and reputation,” Biss said.
Biss sought to connect McClatchy to Virginia by arguing he had seen copies of McClatchy-owned newspapers at a Virginia Barnes and Noble bookstore, and pointing to McClatchy’s stake in a Charlottesville-based technology company called Moonlighting.
McClatchy invested in Moonlighting with other newspaper companies Gannett and Tronc (now Tribune publishing). Together, the companies put $2.3 million in the startup.
Boutrous said the investment was unsuccessful and now worth nothing. He further said Moonlighting had nothing to do with Nunes’ lawsuit.
Biss also said the appearance of a McClatchy news reporter in the courtroom on Friday and in Charlottesville at a prior hearing date was further evidence that McClatchy was at home in Virginia. This reporter lives and works for McClatchy in Washington, D.C., about a three-hour drive from Charlottesville.
Biss argued the court should compel McClatchy to submit documents he wanted under discovery so he could prove whether the company has significant connections to Virginia. McClatchy had filed a protective order to not comply with that discovery.
Whether Biss had a “good faith basis” to file in Virginia was a point of contention. Higgins said Biss’s argument suggested he believed he could file a lawsuit in any state.
Biss insisted he knew that McClatchy had some significant connections to Virginia, he just could not prove the extent without discovery.
Boutrous denied such connections existed, pointing to a sworn statement by the McClatchy chief financial officer that outlined the company’s limited connections to the state.
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 4:09 PM.
.jpg)