Fresno trustee Slatic awarded legal fees for defending himself against restraining order
A Fresno County court commissioner on Thursday awarded Fresno Unified Trustee Terry Slatic $1,000 to defray the cost of defending himself against a Bullard High School cheerleader who accused him of intimidation and harassment.
The amount is substantially less than than $10,000 in legal fees Slatic was seeking.
The student failed to convince the court that she needed a temporary restraining order against Slatic. Commissioner Noelle Pebet denied her request in November, saying Slatic’s actions did not constitute harassment.
Slatic, in turn, filed a motion in January asking the court to force the student to pay him $10,000 to recoup the legal cost of defending himself. It is likely Slatic will have to dig into his own pocket to pay the balance of what he owes.
Slatic’s Southern California lawyer Michael Goldfeder argued for full payment during a hearing Thursday, saying the case against Slatic was frivolous and a waste of the court’s time.
Pebet responded by saying both parties were responsible for how much time the case consumed. And she questioned Slatic’s judgment in selecting an attorney.
“There is no evidence to show a need to hire counsel from outside of the area,” Pebet said. “But that is Mr. Slatic’s prerogative.”
After the hearing, Slatic said he was pleased with the outcome. He said the bottom line message is that you can’t take legal action against someone without facing possible consequences.
Slatic also still believes that the attempt to get a temporary restraining order against him was politically motivated by his critics.
Attorney Aida Macedo, who represented the cheerleader, defended the request for protection, saying the student was afraid of Slatic, and she didn’t believe school officials were protecting her.
The cheerleader and her mother were seeking protection against Slatic over a meeting the board member had with the cheer squad at the Bullard High campus July 10.
They accused Slatic of threatening the cheer program and harassing the students because of an accusation of bullying by some of the cheerleaders.
“Right now, she just wants to get back to her life,” Macedo said.
Macedo said the student’s friends and family will raise funds to pay for the legal fees.
