Latest news with #NebraskaRepublicanParty
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nebraska GOP decides not to appeal verdict in defamatory GOP mailers case
The Nebraska Republican Party's Lincoln headquarters is shown. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — The Nebraska Republican Party has decided not to pursue any post-trial motions or appeals of a civil defamation case that awarded a former GOP legislative candidate $500,000 in damages. The state party lost a lawsuit that awarded former candidate Janet Palmtag of Nebraska City damages for the impact on her business and personal life from mailers a jury determined had crossed the line. The mailers had claimed she 'broke the law' and 'lost' her real estate license and was unfit to become a state senator. 'Although neither my immediate predecessor, Chairman Eric Underwood, nor I was involved in the 2020 actions that led to Janet Palmtag's civil lawsuit and subsequent judgment,' Nebraska GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper said. 'We are both, nonetheless, sympathetic to the harm it caused her.' The decision effectively ended neatly a decade-long legal battle between the state GOP and Palmtag, a long-time GOP volunteer. The former party leadership has said it based the mailer's claims on a 2017 case before the Iowa Real Estate Commission in which Palmtag, the owner of a real estate firm operating in Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa, agreed to pay a $500 fine on behalf of her firm to resolve a mistake made by one of its agents. At the time, as Palmtag testified, the agent was gravely ill and had failed to obtain all the signatures necessary to transfer an earnest deposit for the sale of a home in Iowa. Jury awards $500,000 to legislative candidate defamed by Nebraska GOP mailers Truemper recently became state GOP chair after Underwood decided not to seek reelection. Underwood and a group of populist Republicans, with old-guard help, took over in 2022 from a party leadership team loyal to then-Gov. Pete Ricketts. It was the Ricketts-favored team who made the decision to attack Palmtag, who in 2020 ran against a Ricketts appointee, former State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar. Palmtag was backed by former Gov. Dave Heineman and other prominent members of the party, including former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. Palmtag lost to Slama in the GOP-on-GOP race. But the party's decision to take sides in the race upset some Republicans. After the verdict, Palmtag's attorney said he hoped the decision would serve as a warning to political consultants, professionals and candidates about the claims they make in campaigns. 'We cannot have 'our facts.' Facts are facts — not yours or mine,' Palmtag's attorney David Domina said, 'It is long past time for our discourse to return to this essential home base.' Truemper said the party's apology may not be satisfactory to Palmtag, but she hopes she knows the party wishes 'for her healing and peace as she moves forward.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A jury found Nebraska's Republican Party defamed one of its own candidates in 2020
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A jury has found that the Nebraska Republican Party defamed one of its own candidates during an ugly legislative race five years ago and ordered it to pay her $500,000. The Lancaster County jury sided with Janet Palmtag on Friday in her defamation lawsuit against the party. Palmtag sued after the Nebraska GOP sent out campaign mailers in October 2020 falsely claiming she had been charged with mishandling business trust accounts and had lost her Iowa real estate license. At the time, Palmtag had been a lifelong Republican who was challenging fellow Republican and then-state Sen. Julie Slama of Peru, who had been appointed by and was backed by former Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts. The race highlighted a growing schism within the state GOP, particularly between supporters of Ricketts and those of his predecessor, Republican Gov. Dave Heineman, who backed Palmtag in the legislative race. The party's mailers, sent to about 3,200 households of registered voters, included statements that Palmtag 'broke the law and lost her real estate license,' and that her license had been 'revoked.' The mailers also described Palmtag as 'too irresponsible to keep her license.' The mailers grossly mischaracterized a 2018 disciplinary case out of Iowa that found Palmtag's real estate brokerage firm responsible for improperly transferring funds from an Iowa account to a Nebraska one. It was not Palmtag but another real estate agent who worked for the firm that had made the improper transaction. The company paid a $500 fine for the oversight. Two years later, Palmtag canceled her Iowa real estate license, citing a lack of business for her firm there. The decision was not related to the disciplinary case, she said. Palmtag demanded corrections to the mailers, but the state party refused. She sued after losing the race to Slama, seeking more than $4 million. A judge initially dismissed Palmtag's case, but upon her appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled last year that a jury should decide whether she was defamed. Palmtag, who left the Republican Party following the dispute, argued that the campaign attack had not only cost her the race, but had hurt her business and personal life. The jury agreed, awarding $500,000 — a rare win for a defamation case involving politicians who are often seen as public figures and fair game in political attacks. Palmtag's attorney, David Domina, has been a trial attorney in Nebraska for 50 years and said he has seen only a couple of defamation cases that led to significant awards for the person suing. 'I think it's it's about as scarce as hen's teeth,' Domina said. The Nebraska GOP has 30 days to decide whether it will appeal the jury's finding, and another 10 days to file for a new trial. After that, 'Janet could start collection procedures," Domina said. Nebraska GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper, who was just elected to the post last month, said Monday that the state party is 'in the investigative phase right now' of weighing whether it will appeal.
Associated Press
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
A jury found Nebraska's Republican Party defamed one of its own candidates in 2020
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A jury has found that the Nebraska Republican Party defamed one of its own candidates during an ugly legislative race five years ago and ordered it to pay her $500,000. The Lancaster County jury sided with Janet Palmtag on Friday in her defamation lawsuit against the party. Palmtag sued after the Nebraska GOP sent out campaign mailers in October 2020 falsely claiming she had been charged with mishandling business trust accounts and had lost her Iowa real estate license. At the time, Palmtag had been a lifelong Republican who was challenging fellow Republican and then-state Sen. Julie Slama of Peru, who had been appointed by and was backed by former Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts. The race highlighted a growing schism within the state GOP, particularly between supporters of Ricketts and those of his predecessor, Republican Gov. Dave Heineman, who backed Palmtag in the legislative race. The party's mailers, sent to about 3,200 households of registered voters, included statements that Palmtag 'broke the law and lost her real estate license,' and that her license had been 'revoked.' The mailers also described Palmtag as 'too irresponsible to keep her license.' The mailers grossly mischaracterized a 2018 disciplinary case out of Iowa that found Palmtag's real estate brokerage firm responsible for improperly transferring funds from an Iowa account to a Nebraska one. It was not Palmtag but another real estate agent who worked for the firm that had made the improper transaction. The company paid a $500 fine for the oversight. Two years later, Palmtag canceled her Iowa real estate license, citing a lack of business for her firm there. The decision was not related to the disciplinary case, she said. Palmtag demanded corrections to the mailers, but the state party refused. She sued after losing the race to Slama, seeking more than $4 million. A judge initially dismissed Palmtag's case, but upon her appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled last year that a jury should decide whether she was defamed. Palmtag, who left the Republican Party following the dispute, argued that the campaign attack had not only cost her the race, but had hurt her business and personal life. The jury agreed, awarding $500,000 — a rare win for a defamation case involving politicians who are often seen as public figures and fair game in political attacks. Palmtag's attorney, David Domina, has been a trial attorney in Nebraska for 50 years and said he has seen only a couple of defamation cases that led to significant awards for the person suing. 'I think it's it's about as scarce as hen's teeth,' Domina said. The Nebraska GOP has 30 days to decide whether it will appeal the jury's finding, and another 10 days to file for a new trial. After that, 'Janet could start collection procedures,' Domina said. Nebraska GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper, who was just elected to the post last month, said Monday that the state party is 'in the investigative phase right now' of weighing whether it will appeal.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jury deliberating whether 2020 Nebraska GOP campaign mailer defamed legislative candidate
A verdict is expected in the Janet Palmtag defamation lawsuit against the Nebraska Republican Party as early as Friday. (Getty Images) LINCOLN — Opposing attorneys laid out starkly different portrayals Friday of campaign mailers sent during the 2020 election that a Nebraska legislative candidate alleged were defamatory and damaged her business, marriage and reputation. The attorney for the candidate, Janet Palmtag of Nebraska City, told jurors during closing arguments that the Nebraska Republican Party showed a reckless disregard for the facts in sending out the fliers, which he said falsely stated that she had broken the law and lost her license to practice real estate. The attorney, David Domina, asked jurors to award Palmtag $4.25 million for the loss of real estate listings and damage to her standing in her community and damage to her relationship with her family. 'Other than to call her names, there's really no defense here,' Domina said. The attorney for the Nebraska GOP portrayed the mailers as largely true and said the content had been checked against available public records. It was only later, lawyer Kamron Hasan said, that the party learned the back story about the disciplinary steps taken against Palmtag's real estate firm by the Iowa Real Estate Commission. He termed it 'an honest mistake.' 'The First Amendment and free speech protects honest mistakes … it protects Democrats, it protects Republicans, it protects other political affiliations,' Hasan said. The closing arguments came at the end of a weeklong trial in Lancaster County District Court over the defamation lawsuit filed by Palmtag against the Nebraska GOP. A jury of seven men and four women (One juror didn't return after being picked to serve.) must decide, by clear and convincing evidence, if the statements made in the campaign mailers were false, that the GOP knew they were false and published them with a reckless disregard for the truth. If the jury cannot reach a verdict by 4:30 p.m. Friday, deliberations will continue Monday, according to the trial judge, Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen. The case raises issues of how far political speech can go during a heated campaign and hinges on whether the political party issued the mailers recklessly or with malice, a legal term that essentially means intentionally. Palmtag lost the 2020 race for the Nebraska Legislature in southeast Nebraska against the then-incumbent, State Sen. Julie Slama. The race pitted two Republicans against each other, with Slama being backed by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts, who appointed Slama to her post, and the state party. Palmtag, a longtime state GOP volunteer, was supported by former Gov. Dave Heineman, then-U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, among others. Palmtag filed her lawsuit three months after the election. Testimony at trial indicated that Palmtag had called the then-executive director of the state GOP after the initial mailer was sent out on Oct. 8, 2020. The mailer stated that Palmtag had 'broke the law' and 'lost' her real estate license, which Palmtag said was a lie and needed to be corrected. Instead, the GOP executive, Ryan Hamilton, refused and instead sent a second mailer to 3,200 households stating that Palmtag was 'too irresponsible' to serve as a legislator. That piece cited a 2017 civil fine levied by the Iowa Real Estate Commission paid after one of Palmtag's agents had failed to obtain all the required signatures for a transfer of an earnest deposit on the sale of a home. Domina, during his closing argument, said the Nebraska GOP was 'reckless' in the campaign flyer because Palmtag never 'lost' her license — she voluntarily gave up her personal and the firm's corporate licenses in 2019 due to a lack of Iowa business after flooding — and because her consent agreement with the Iowa commission admitted no violation of law. '(The consent agreement) doesn't end with a license revoked, suspended or lost,' he said. Palmtag and her firm were still in 'good standing' for two years afterwards, when the licenses were not renewed, Domina said. But, Hasan, the GOP attorney, told jurors that what the party sent out was 'at least substantially true,' because the consent order read that Palmtag's real estate firm, J.J. Palmtag, did not contest the 'alleged violation' of Iowa law. 'It was a violation. The law was broken,' he said. 'You don't have to admit to being guilty of a crime for it to be true.' Hasan said that when Hamilton looked up the status of J.J. Palmtag's Iowa license in 2020, he found that it was listed as 'canceled.' 'You don't have to overthink this,' he told jurors. 'Just read the words.' But Domina said that if Hamilton had researched the Iowa commission's website further, he would have discovered that Palmtag's individual license had become 'inactive' in 2019, and the company's license had been listed as 'canceled' because that's how corporate licenses are listed when not renewed. Palmtag, Domina said, only agreed to pay a $500 fine to resolve the matter, which she testified stemmed from a mistake by one of her salesmen, who was gravely ill. Domina said Palmtag was being 'responsible' for resolving the matter, calling it 'preposterous' that she had been 'irresponsible' as claimed by the GOP. Hasan, meanwhile, said that as the supervising agent, it was her mistake that caused the fine. 'Janet is J.J. Palmtag and J.J. Palmtag is Janet,' he said. The case took so long to get to trial because initially, the judge had granted a summary judgment filed by the GOP, thus dismissing the case. Domina appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor that a jury, and not the judge, needed to make that decision, which led to this week's trial. This is a developing story. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trial begins over alleged defamation of candidate during 2020 legislative race
Lancaster County Court is in the County-City Building in downtown Lincoln. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — A lawsuit over the alleged defamation of a political candidate during the 2020 election has finally made its way to a jury trial. On Monday, opening arguments were delivered in the case brought by a state legislative candidate, Janet Palmtag of Nebraska City, against the Nebraska Republican Party. Palmtag, who lost the election to then State Sen. Julie Slama of Peru, has accused the GOP of defaming her by falsely stating, in political mailings, that Palmtag had broken the law in Iowa and had lost her real estate license in that state. Palmtag, who denies the allegations, is seeking damages for financial losses and emotional distress. The case hinges on whether Nebraska GOP leaders acted with 'actual malice' in making the claims, or whether it was an honest mistake during a heated political campaign that pitted two Republicans in a race for the officially nonpartisan Legislature. The contest illustrated a split in the state party. Executives then running the Nebraska Republican Party, along with then-Gov. Pete Ricketts (who appointed Slama to her post) backed Slama, while Palmtag, a long-time Republican volunteer and real estate broker, had the support of former Gov. Dave Heineman and then-U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. Palmtag's attorney, Dave Domina of Omaha, told jurors that it was 'a case about words and the damage they can do' and that 'democracy is not savagery.' 'We can't get along in this country with the political extremes calling each other stupid things,' he said, pausing for effect. 'You have a big role to play in that.' But the lead attorney for the state GOP, Kamron Hasan, told jurors there was insufficient evidence to prove by 'clear and convincing evidence' (the standard in civil cases) that GOP officials had acted maliciously or with willful disregard for the truth. 'The evidence is going to show that the mailers … were not false,' Hasan said. Instead, the attorney said, he would show that Ryan Hamilton, the executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party in 2020, had checked and doubled checked records of the Iowa Real Estate Commission before mailing two fliers in October 2020 that stated Palmtag had 'broken the law and lost her real estate license' and was a 'liberal' who was 'irresponsible.' Domina repeatedly stated that Palmtag had never been disciplined for her work as a real estate broker or as owner of her real estate brokerage, J.J. Palmtag, Inc., which operated in Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa. In 2018, he said that Palmtag agreed to pay a $500 fine as part of a 'consent' agreement with the Iowa Real Estate Commission to settle a mistake made by one of her agents, who was gravely ill from cancer. The settlement, over the 2017 sale of a home in Thurman, Iowa, made no admission of a law violation, Domina said, and did not result in her losing her real estate license. '(Her license) was not suspended, it wasn't revoked. To say that is a lie,' he said during his opening statement. Domina, one of the state's most prominent lawyers and a one-time Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, said Hamilton, the State GOP executive director, had 'giggled' when Palmtag asked him to retract and correct the claims. But Hasan told jurors that Hamilton had looked up the Iowa Real Estate Commission's settlement with J.J. Palmtag Inc., which was signed by Janet Palmtag. It stated that her firm 'did not contest the alleged violation' of state laws pertaining to such financial transfers, he said. Hasan told jurors that Hamilton had also checked the status of the Palmtag firm's Iowa license, and it indicated that it had been 'cancelled.' 'These (records) are accurate. This is true,' the GOP attorney said. While Domina portrayed Palmtag's campaign in 2020 as fairly passive after she was roundly out-polled by Slama in the 2020 primary, Hasan called it a 'bitter' contest at a 'vicious time' in politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'There was negativity. There was hostility,' Hasan said. When called to testify, Palmtag told jurors she had no role in the sale of the Iowa home and had only learned later, via a routine audit by the Iowa commission, that the permission to transfer a $5,000 earnest deposit on the sale had been signed by only the seller and not also the buyer. Both signatures are required in Iowa. 'I did pay a $500 fine for Dale,' Palmtag testified, referring to her agent, Dale Rogers, who has since died. She also testified that she had voluntarily taken 'inactive' status as an Iowa real estate broker and voluntarily 'cancelled' her company's Iowa license in the wake of devastating floods along the Missouri River in Iowa during 2019 because the floods had ruined the market there. The case took so long to get to trial, in large part, because of an appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The trial judge, Lancaster County District Court Judge Andrew Jacobsen, had initially dismissed the case, agreeing with the Nebraska GOP that Palmtag had failed to show that the party had acted with actual malice. But, after Palmtag appealed, the State Supreme Court ruled last year that a jury, and not the judge, should decide if there was a 'genuine issue' of malice. That ruling sent the case back to Jacobsen for trial. The trial is expected to continue most of this week. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
