California could protect sexual assault victims facing lawsuits

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California lawmakers voted Thursday to protect victims of sexual assault from retaliatory lawsuits, years after a former state lawmaker sued a woman over her sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Proponents of the legislation hope it will thwart efforts to silence victims.

The bill, which passed the Assembly overwhelmingly with bipartisan support, would make it clear that a victim’s comments about sexual assault or harassment are protected from defamation suits if the allegation is not knowingly false or made recklessly. It would also help a victim who successfully defends himself in a defamation suit to recover attorneys’ fees and damages.

Pamela Lopez, a lobbyist who accused a lawmaker of sexual assault in 2017, said a libel suit used as a retaliatory tactic goes beyond trying to absolve survivors.

It’s also an attempt to take the power away from every person who wants to be part of a conversation with survivors about how we find ourselves in a culture that perpetuates sexual assault and sexual harassment, she said. declared.

She alleged that then-San Bernadino Assemblyman Matt Dababneh pushed her into a bathroom and masturbated in front of her at an event in Las Vegas in 2016. Dababneh denied the allegation but resigned in 2018 from the Assembly. He then sued Lopez for defamation over the allegation, even though an attorney hired by the legislature to investigate the allegations found them credible.

Lawyers who represented Dababneh in his trial said Thursday they no longer represent him and would not speak on his behalf. Attempts to reach him via the phone numbers listed in the public records were unsuccessful.

Lopez was among 150 women who signed a letter in 2017 condemning a culture of pervasive misconduct and sexism in California politics where men forcefully groped women, made inappropriate comments about their bodies and undermined their expertise. The #MeToo movement has prompted a slew of state legislator resignations in California and dozens of other states.

Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who drafted the bill, said it was critical that lawmakers try to protect people from sexual misconduct in the first place.

It’s equally imperative that we protect them from lawsuits for revenge,” the Democrat representing Colusa County said.

The bill is still expected to pass the Senate before reaching Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.

In Illinois, a state legislator introduced a bill this year in an effort to prevent those accused of sexual assault or harassment from retaliating against accusers through litigation, but the legislation has not been heard. New York has also strengthened protections in recent years against lawsuits used to retaliate against victims of sexual assault, said Jessica Stender, director of policy at Equal Rights Advocates.

Allegations of sexual misconduct are often already protected by state law, but there are gray areas in the laws that leave victims vulnerable to retaliation, said Beth Mora of the California Employment Lawyers Association, during a Judiciary Committee hearing in March.

She used the lawsuit against Lopez as an example. Dababneh alleged that Lopez defamed him in comments she made about the accusation to the press.

Although the court ultimately upheld Ms. Lopez’s speech as privileged, she had to endure years of litigation, and many survivors are simply unable to bear that cost and emotional toll, Mora said.

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Associated Press Writer Trn Nguyn contributed to this report.

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Sophie Austin is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on underreported issues. Follow Austin on Twitter: @sophieadanna

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