News

Action Wisconsin wins suit

A Milwaukee County circuit judge awarded $87,000 to Action Wisconsin earlier this month in relation to a defamation suit filed against the organization.

The suit was originally filed in 2003 by Grant Storms, a Louisiana pastor who presented a speech about homosexuality at the International Conference on Homo-Fascism.

"He made these really outrageous statements apparently advocating the killing of gay and lesbian people," Action Wisconsin Executive Director Chris Ott said. "We got a copy of the recording of the speech so there was really no question about what he had said, but he filed this lawsuit anyway."

Storms charged Action Wisconsin with defamation for issuing press releases detailing the event and labeling him an advocate of homosexual homicide.

"We only sued after asking them to retract [the statement] twice," James Donohoo, Storms' attorney, said. "There were no verifiable facts in that speech to confirm that he was advocating the murder of gays. We don't believe any reasonable person could come to that conclusion from listening to that speech."

Action Wisconsin and Judge Patricia McMahon disagreed, however, and the suit was dismissed last June. The judge later awarded Action Wisconsin $87,000 after the organization filed a motion for attorneys' fees.

"The judge concluded it was frivolous, [which] is not common. It's rare because most lawyers have enough common sense and professionalism not to bring frivolous lawsuits," said Lester Pines, who represented Action Wisconsin. "In this instance, Attorney Donohoo and his client decided to pursue a lawsuit which had absolutely no basis in law or fact at all — none, zero, less than zero."

According to Action Wisconsin and Pines, the lawsuit's frivolous nature may be explained by what they call an ulterior motive.

"We think this lawsuit was brought against us as a way of intimidating us from speaking out about these issues," Ott said. "This victory helps to send a signal that we're not going to back down when something like this happens, but we're going to fight back."

Donohoo contested that the lawsuit was not frivolous, but grounded "in law and in fact."

"The award of the fees and the cost will definitely be appealed," Donohoo said. "And as far as whether we'll appeal the underlying action and the actual dismissal — I have to consult with my client before we make a decision."