LAPORTE — LaPorte County Auditor Timothy Stabosz has failed in his attempt to convince a judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against him earlier this year by LaPorte County Commissioners Attorney Shaw Friedman.
Special Judge Stephen Bowers went on to grant a motion by Friedman to file a second amended complaint, claiming Stabosz has made additional defamatory statements and thus Friedman is entitled to recover damages from those statements as well.
The lawsuit centers around claims made by Stabosz that Friedman is a "walking, talking conflict of interest" who "corruptly" influenced other county officials. Friedman is suing Stabosz, claiming the accusations are false attempts to disparage his reputation.
Bowers ruled in part that while Stabosz claims he believed the original statements he made against Friedman, he never reported any of the claims of criminal and unethical behavior to an appropriate authority.
"Stabosz's failure to take action to curtail Friedman's alleged misconduct creates an inference ... that Stabosz did not subjectively believe his accusations against Friedman," the judge said.
Stabosz also failed to submit sufficient evidence to show his claims "had a reasonable basis in law and fact," the ruling states.
Stabosz, who is looking at appealing the ruling, said in a prepared statement that he did report Friedman to the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
"So that there is no misunderstanding, I want to be clear that the reason that I...
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