D.A. Loses Bid to Get Libel Suit Dismissed

Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury on Monday lost his bid to have a libel suit dismissed when a state judge ruled in favor of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy that the prosecutor publicly criticized.

The lawsuit was filed in March by Deputy Gary Spencer who shot and killed Malibu millionaire Donald P. Scott during a drug raid on his property.

Bradbury later issued a 64-page report that cleared Spencer of the shooting, but said he may have lied to get a search warrant for Scott’s 200-acre property. No drugs were found on the property.

Bradbury also referred to Spencer as “a good officer . . . who lost his moral compass,” the suit said.

While refusing to throw out the case, Kern County Superior Court Judge Stephen P. Gildner rejected five of Spencer’s claims in the lawsuit.

Gildner ruled that Spencer could not sue Bradbury for abuse of process under state law, or for conspiring to violate his federal civil rights. The judge also threw out three other claims, but will allow Spencer to refile those claims in an amended lawsuit.

Glen M. Reiser, the attorney representing Bradbury, said the district attorney may now file a writ of mandamus with a state appeals court seeking to throw out the rest of the claims in the suit.

In addition to suing Bradbury for defamation, Spencer named four of the district attorney’s staff members in the lawsuit alleging libel, slander, infliction of emotional distress and violating his civil rights.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County, but both sides agreed to move it to Kern County to avoid claims of conflicts of interest.