Santa Monica
The city, in an out-of-court settlement, has agreed to pay the attorney’s fees that former Mayor Ruth Yannatta Goldway’s incurred in defending herself against a $2.1-million defamation lawsuit.
The suit, filed in February, 1983, by landlady Ilse Koch, stemmed from a speech Goldway made at a community gathering when she was mayor. The suit was dismissed last year in U.S. District Court and is being appealed in the U.S. Court of Appeal.
Initially, the city attorney’s office defended Goldway in the action, but in August, 1983, the city attorney decided that speech making was not within the scope of Goldway’s duties as mayor. She then hired her own attorney.
Goldway filed suit against the city in February, 1984, charging that the city should have defended her. Last fall, Superior Court Judge John Cole ruled in Goldway’s favor.
In the settlement, the city agreed not to appeal Cole’s decision and to pay $31,000 to attorney Anthony Michael Glassman, who defended Goldway in the defamation lawsuit. The city has also agreed to give Glassman an additional $10,000 to continue defending Goldway in the case.
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