Judge considers throwing out Bullard High School football coach’s defamation lawsuit
A Fresno judge is weighing whether to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Bullard High School’s football coach against Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas and the district.
Coach Don Arax is suing Thomas and the district for a comment the trustee made in a May 17 live broadcast with GV Wire, accusing Arax of using a racial slur against one of her sons. The coach has denied that ever took place.
Attorneys for both Thomas and FUSD filed anti-SLAPP motions last month in hopes of getting the judge to strike down the suit.
SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.” Anti-SLAPP laws exist in California and other states as a provision against meritless lawsuits that fly in the face of First Amendment rights.
In a tentative ruling issued before Thursday’s hearing, Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan found Arax’s lawsuit had merit and refused to dismiss the case. The judge held off on making the ruling official on Thursday, instead taking the arguments under submission. The judge has 90 days to issue a formal ruling.
Attorneys for both defendants declined to comment on the pending litigation.
In their efforts to get the case dismissed, Fresno Unified’s and Thomas’ attorneys appeared at odds over whether Thomas was acting in her official capacity as an FUSD trustee when she made her remarks on May 17.
Thomas’ attorneys made the case that her speech should be protected since she was making those comments as part of her official duties to inform the public of information relevant to the district.
Meanwhile, Fresno Unified’s lawyers argued the opposite.
The district should not be “vicariously” liable for Thomas’ speech, FUSD’s legal team contended, as she was not acting in her official capacity as trustee.
In Wednesday’s tentative ruling, the judge declared neither of the defendants provided sufficient evidence one way or the other.
The opposing counsels are also debating whether Arax is a public figure. In defamation suits, public figures are held to a higher legal standard than private figures in order to win their case.
Both defendants argued Arax is a “limited public figure” — someone who courts define as “voluntarily” injecting themselves into a public debate — as a well-known football coach in the area who’s been known to comment on district issues related to the football team in the media before.
Brian Whelan, lead attorney for Arax, countered that his client wasn’t the focus of controversies surrounding racism at Bullard High School and in Fresno Unified until Thomas’ comments implicated him.
The court sided with Arax’s attorney in Wednesday’s tentative ruling. Whelan was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Thomas made her remarks about Arax during a discussion of racism in Fresno Unified after a photo of a student in Bullard’s weight room wearing what appeared to be a makeshift Ku Klux Klan hood circulated on social media and sparked outcry, student walkouts and demands for accountability.
Next on the calendar for this suit is a case management conference on Dec. 15 before Judge Stephanie Negin in Fresno County Superior Court.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.
