A settlement has been reached between state Sen. Catherine Blakespear and four Encinitas residents in a breach of contract and free speech lawsuit that arose after the lawmaker blocked several critics on her Facebook page last year, sources close to the parties confirmed to The Coast News.
Details of the agreement were not available as terms of the deal are confidential, but The Coast News learned both parties reached a resolution to the 15-month legal dispute after entering mediation on Sept. 1.
In response to The Coast News’ request for comment, plaintiff Garvin Walsh confirmed the reports of a settlement agreement.
“Indeed, we attended a lengthy mediation session on Friday and did reach a settlement,” Walsh said. “I expect Ms. Blakespear will soon have a comment on the matter. Until that time, I’d prefer not to say anything else.”
Blakespear and her aides did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Coast News will update this developing story as more information becomes available.
Walsh was one of four plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Blakespear filed last September, accusing the first-term state senator of violating a previously signed settlement agreement by issuing a bad-faith apology and paying a $5,000 fee using her campaign funds rather than personal finances.
The original settlement arose after the plaintiffs alleged Blakespear had violated their constitutionally protected free speech rights by blocking them from participating on her then-mayoral Facebook page.
Blakespear’s campaign has long characterized the lawsuit as an ongoing politically motivated attack.
Per court records, negotiations began after the residents filed a notice of appeal on April 3 in the Fourth District Court of Appeal, a response to Blakespear’s anti-SLAPP victory in May that awarded her more than $120,000 in attorney’s fees.
“The court’s anti-SLAPP order was wrongly decided; it is inconsistent with the facts and the law; the fee order was punitive, in my opinion, and it hurts innocent people and families,” plaintiffs’ attorney Carla DiMare previously told The Coast News. “My clients have filed a notice of appeal, and they have good grounds for doing so.”
In May, CalMatters reported that Blakespear had opened a legal defense fund, raising money from interest groups to help with the costly litigation that had dragged on for 15 months.
From Jan. 1 to June 30, Blakespear’s fund has received donations totaling over $100,000, including a $15,000 loan from her own campaign, $45,596 in non-monetary contributions (legal services) from the California Democratic Party, and donations from longtime supporter and San Diego property giant Gerry Ranglas of R&V Management ($5,000), dialysis and health care services company Davita, Inc. ($10,000), Pechanga Band of Indians ($5,500), and other labor and health care groups.
David Snyder, attorney and executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, previously told The Coast News that such legal cases involving the social media pages of political figures are becoming increasingly common, describing it as an “evolving field of law.”
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider a pair of cases involving public officials blocking their constituents on social media platforms, including one from Poway Unified School District. The high court will not hear the new cases before the fall.
