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Tarkanian V. Schneider: Jury says lawmaker defamed opponent

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  • Tarkanian V. Schneider: Jury says lawmaker defamed opponent

    TARKANIAN V. SCHNEIDER: Jury says lawmaker defamed opponent

    Coach's son gets $50,000 in actual damages

    Las Vegas Review-Journal (Las Vegas, NV)
    August 2, 2009

    By LAWRENCE MOWER, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

    A jury late Friday handed down a verdict and $50,000 in damages in
    favor of Danny Tarkanian in his long-running legal feud against State
    Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas.

    At about 10:30 p.m., and after deliberating for more than three hours,
    the jury found Tarkanian's claims were justified, according to
    Tarkanian and his attorney, Gus Flangas.

    "It was very gratifying -- very nerve-racking, but very gratifying,"
    Tarkanian said Saturday.

    The lawsuit stemmed from a vicious 2004 state Senate campaign between
    the two men. After losing the race, Tarkanian sued Schneider, claiming
    that he was defamed and libeled during the campaign.

    Tarkanian, who was running as a Republican in a heavily Democratic
    district, was accused of acting as a resident agent for several
    companies that later were investigated for illegal telemarketing scams
    that victimized the elderly.

    Schneider also suggested that Tarkanian turned "state's evidence" to
    save himself in a criminal investigation.

    Flangas said Saturday that he asked the jury for $30,000 in damages
    over comments Schneider made about Tarkanian on the "Face to Face"
    show with journalist Jon Ralston, $10,000 for fliers mailed out by
    Schneider's campaign and $10,000 for comments Schneider made about the
    status of Tarkanian's law license.

    The jury awarded all of that, plus determined that the case was
    eligible for punitive damages. Flangas said Tarkanian could be awarded
    up to $300,000 during the punitive phase of the trial, which starts
    Monday.

    Schneider released a statement Saturday saying he was "shocked and
    saddened" by the verdict.

    The statement continued: "I entered public service to serve the people
    of Nevada and have always upheld the law. My family and I are spending
    time together. I respect Nevada's judiciary system and am hopeful for
    a positive resolution of this matter."

    Tarkanian said the amount of the award was not as important as having
    the facts cleared up.

    "I was going to settle the case for a lot, lot less if Mike had
    acknowledged that at the time he made the statements he thought they
    were true but he learned later that they were false," Tarkanian said.

    Schneider would not agree to that, Tarkanian said.

    Tarkanian was a registered agent for several telemarketing companies
    that were indicted on fraud charges, but he said in later interviews
    that he was merely an attorney who did legal work on behalf of the
    companies and knew nothing of the fraud.

    The same claims came up in a 2006 campaign for secretary of state,
    which he lost to Democrat Ross Miller. Tarkanian said he wanted to sue
    the first person who made the claims. He said he can't sue Miller
    anyway because the statute of limitations has expired.

    Tarkanian, the son of legendary former UNLV basketball coach Jerry
    Tarkanian and Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, said he is
    considering running for office again.

    He wouldn't say for what but felt he wouldn't be able to win had the
    claims against him not been cleared up.

    Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at [email protected] or
    702-383-0440.


    http://www.lvrj.com/news/523014 47.html
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