Libel Suit Fails Against Lawndale Mayor, Allies

Mayor Sarann Kruse and 26 Lawndale civic leaders have scored a legal victory in the dismissal of a $4.5-million libel lawsuit filed by a developer last year during a heated municipal election campaign.

In a decision made public this week, Torrance Superior Court Judge J. Gary Hastings dismissed the suit, in which developer-attorney Jonathan A. Stein sought damages from the mayor and her political allies.

Hastings ruled that Stein is a “public figure” who would have a greater burden of proof in the libel case. “It is clear from the pleading that Jonathan Stein directly inserted himself into a public issue” and thus would be considered by the court a public figure, Hastings wrote in a memorandum on the case.

Further, Hastings ruled that statements Stein contended were libelous were “hyperbole and opinion” and thus protected from libel claims.

William J. King, an attorney who represented Kruse and the other civic leaders, called the ruling a victory for the defendants. The judge “gave us everything we asked for” in dismissing the case, he said.

In an interview Thursday, Stein said that although he lost, his suit accomplished what he set out to do: “to stop Sarann Kruse from lying about me.”

In his suit, Stein claimed that he was libeled in an April, 1988, election mailer signed by Kruse’s allies, who called their committee “Fair and Honest Government for Lawndale.” The mailer said Stein fostered violations of California’s Brown Act, which prohibits elected officials from making decisions about public business in private.

The mailer to Lawndale residents accused Stein of “attempting to take over your city government.” It went on to claim that Stein “has encouraged three councilmen to ignore the state Brown Act and conduct city affairs secretly on the phone before they are revealed in city meetings.”

Voting Bloc Urged

The mailer quotes a Sept. 27, 1987, letter Stein wrote to Councilmen Larry Rudolph, Dan McKenzie and Harold E. Hofmann stating that the three “should vote together as a bloc on all development issues.”

In interviews, Stein said he had no intention of encouraging the councilmen to commit Brown Act violations but only wanted the council to adopt consistent development policies in open session.

Stein said Thursday that the newsletter contained falsehoods, including a claim that he had violated state Fair Political Practices Commission regulations by not registering his group, Citizens for Increased Property Values, as a political action committee.

That group, with Stein as its major contributor, gave $1,000 to Rudolph, one of Kruse’s opponents in the mayoral race. It also gave $1,000 to McKenzie, who frequently opposes Kruse in council decision-making.

Stein said Thursday that he did not register his committee with Lawndale officials because the group has members from throughout the South Bay. He said he registered the committee with Los Angeles County instead.