Councilman to Appeal Dismissal of Slander Suit

A judge has dismissed Pasadena Councilman William Paparian’s $1-million slander lawsuit against the city’s University Club, but the former mayor said he has appealed the ruling.

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Terry Smerling dismissed the suit last month after the club argued that it violated a state law preventing strategic lawsuits designed to gag critics of government, a court clerk said. However, Paparian said he filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal last week, arguing that the law does not apply in this case.

A University Club attorney filed a motion Thursday seeking $2,473 in attorney fees, a clerk said.

Paparian sued the 75-year-old University Club in September, accusing the club’s president of slandering him in published comments about the club’s attempt to collect $489 in alleged unpaid dues and charges dating back to 1993.

A judge dismissed the small claims action for insufficient evidence and Paparian sued after club President Fred Flinn commented on the matter in the Pasadena Weekly. The councilman charged that those comments suggested incorrectly that he skipped out on meal tabs, according to the lawsuit.

Paparian has said officials at the club were out to embarrass him over his trip to Cuba last year. Club officials denied that it had anything to do with the trip. University Club officials declined comment.