Judge issues tentative ruling against Karbassi in defamation suit over Soria mailer
A judge’s tentative ruling to strike a lawsuit filed earlier this year by Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi against Esmeralda Soria — his council colleague and rival in a primary campaign for a state Assembly seat — could be finalized in a court hearing Thursday.
Karbassi filed the lawsuit in June in Fresno County Superior Court, alleging that Soria and her Assembly campaign committee defamed him in campaign materials ahead of the June 7 primary for Assembly District 27, which covers parts of Fresno, Madera and Merced counties. Soria advanced in the primary to the November general election, while Karbassi did not.
Soria last month filed an anti-SLAPP motion asking that Karbassi’s suit be dismissed as an effort “to try to silence and retaliate against Defendant Esmeralda Soria’s political speech on matters of public concern.” The tentative ruling in Soria’s favor, issued by Judge Kimberly Gaab, came a day before a a scheduled hearing Thursday on Soria’s motion.
SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.” California has strong anti-SLAPP protections.
Karbassi referred questions from The Fresno Bee on Wednesday afternoon to his attorney, Brian Whelan. Whelan, in turn, deferred commenting until after Thursday’s court hearing.
How the judge reached her decision
At issue is a late-campaign mailer from Soria that Karbassi asserted gave the impression that he was guilty of a crime. At the top of the literature is a headline that reads: “Mike Karbassi’s Actions Were Inexcusable” and a prominent photo of Karbassi. Underneath the large headline were smaller headlines including, “Guilty of battery against a student,” “Arrested and cited for assault and battery of a 19-year-old student,” and “Was I wrong? Yes, I touched her when she did not want to be touched.”
The headlines attributed to The Fresno Bee and two other media organizations referred not to Karbassi, but to former Fresno City College instructor Brian Calhoun, who in 2014 was found guilty of misdemeanor battery against a female student. Calhoun, a former two-term city councilmember, was later hired by Karbassi as a consultant. The opposite side of the Soria campaign mailer referred to Calhoun’s conviction.
Karbassi’s lawsuit claimed Soria’s mailer caused “injury to his personal, business and professional reputations including embarrassment, humiliation, severe emotional distress, loss of business and significant economic loss.” The suit seeks $5 million in damages from Soria and her Assembly campaign committee.
However Gaab disagreed with the allegations made in Karbassi’s suit.
”Because the document must be read as a whole, the court finds that the mailer is not defamatory because the explanatory side makes clear that the person who allegedly committed the assault and battery was a consultant hired by Karbassi, not Karbassi himself,” Gaab wrote.
In Soria’s Aug. 5 anti-SLAPP motion, her attorney, Port Parker, argued that Karbassi’s lawsuit hinges on Soria engaging in protected speech since her mailer spelled out the headlines were about Calhoun. “Karbassi filed this complaint for political reasons, not to pursue a legitimate damage claim,” the motion says.
If Gaab finalizes the ruling in Soria’s favor, Karbassi could be liable for Soria’s legal costs, although the ruling could be subject to an appeal. California law also allows successful defendants to file a “SLAPPback” countersuit to recover damages for abusing the legal process.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 6:49 PM.
