Last week, the California Supreme Court denied review of a decision upholding the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by former Republican Party volunteer and state party chairman candidate David Douglas Fennell, against the California Republican Party and various prominent members of the party. The trial court had dismissed the lawsuit under the anti-SLAPP law.
Fennell’s suit, brought without a lawyer, was based on charges of defamation, retaliation, and extortion, among others. Fennell alleged that party officials retaliated against him for “rocking the boat” by uncovering alleged corruption and incompetence in the party, and encouraging the recruitment of more “technologically savvy” candidates for office to appeal to younger voters. Fennell then decided to run for state party chairman. It was after he announced this run, Fennell alleged, that party officials sunk his bid by accusing him of being a “molester, statutory rapist, and thief.” In addition to naming the party as a defendant, Fennell also sued, among others, former gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, former senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina, former state party chairman Ron Nehring, and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Most of the individual defendants professed to having no idea who Fennell was, much less that they had defamed him.
The court dismissed the lawsuit after finding it targeted criticisms of a candidate for political party office, which the court characterized as plainly protected activity under the First Amendment and the anti-SLAPP law. The court further found that Fennell had presented no admissible evidence in support of his claims.
More information from Met News: http://www.metnews.com/articles/2011/conf121511.htm