Simon Verdict Thrown Out

KFI News Radio | 09/12/02 | KFI News Radio

[vbmoneyspender]

The judge presiding over the Simon lawsuit has thrown out the jury verdict against the Simon firm. More details to follow.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The Democrat Slime Machine is not going to like this.

[Gophack]

ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A judge Thursday threw out a politically damaging $78
million civil fraud verdict against GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill
Simon's family investment firm.

Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant, in a written ruling, dismissed
the huge compensatory and punitive damages verdict against William E.
Simon & Sons and a nearly $20 million verdict also levied by a jury
against another investor group.

Simon, who faces Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in the November election,
had described the July 30 jury verdict as ``crazy'' and ``fundamentally
flawed'' and maintained that it would not stand.

Simon was not personally named in the lawsuit, but with corporate
wrongdoing in the spotlight the fraud verdict was political poison that
stunned the GOP and struck at a key theme of Simon's first-time
candidacy, his boasts of private-sector success.

The verdict became another setback for his stumbling campaign, spooking
donors and becoming the focus of a Davis attack ad that remains on the
air.

The lawsuit arose from a 1998 acquisition by investors including William
E. Simon & Sons, the New Jersey and California firm Simon started with
his brother and father, a former U.S. Treasury secretary. The investment
was in a Van Nuys pay phone company, Pacific Coin, founded by Paul
Edward Hindelang of Santa Barbara.

Hindelang was a convicted marijuana smuggler who had served 30 months in
prison in the early 1980s, but the investors didn't know that at the
time, they said.

The investors planned to grow Pacific Coin, but with the pay phone
market shrinking, the company faltered, fell into debt and was seized by
its lenders in December 2000.

That same month Hindelang sued Simon & Sons, alleging the investors
defrauded him by concealing a perilous and ultimately failed plan to
take Pacific Coin public and make huge profits.

The investors countersued, accusing Hindelang of committing fraud and
costing them millions by hiding his troubled drug past. Simon & Sons
invested $16.5 million in Pacific Coin and lost it all, and Simon
personally lost $1.2 million.

Jurors found unanimously for Hindelang and awarded him $65 million in
punitive damages and $13.3 million in compensatory damages from Simon &
Sons. The other investor, B-R Investors, was assessed $10.9 million in
punitive damages and $8.9 million in compensatory damages.

1st Ld-Writethru

Business
Financial

[RogerWilko]

I can't wait to see all the Davis Ads retracting the slams they put on Simon for this one!! (Yeah, right)

[daviddennis]

Applause!

This was largely expected, but still VERY welcome news.

Do we get to see a transcript? This should be entertaining.

D

[The Vast Right Wing]

This will be on page A43 of tommorrows LA Times.

[NormsRevenge]

But what does this mean ;-?

It probably won't even make the Noon TV News .. LOL

Shall We Dance?
DUMP DAVI$ & the Den of Socialists



GO SIMON

[July 4th]

Let's hope this provides as big a lift as it did a slump.

[BlackRazor]

Flag

[dalereed]

I have always wondered how many democrap activists were on that jury!

[KC Burke]

fyi

[RogerWilko]

The Sacto. Bee had it Smeared ALL over the front page when the judgement came out against Simon! Let's see what they do now they it's been reversed! They're not gonna like this at all!

[Coop]

I was hoping to hear this news today. This will provide a little positive news for Simon. :-) Thanks for the ping, BR!

[Cinnamon Girl]

Did anyone doubt this? President Bush never would have come out to campaign with Simon if there was any question about this idiotic lawsuit.

[heleny]

Great news! Luckily we still have some logical judges to protect us from awful juries. Go Simon!

[rightwing2]

Yeah, baby, yeah! Simon can still win this race. In fact, according to polling data by a Republican polling firm, he is beating Davis by 5 points among those "most likely" to vote. Among registered voters he is running only seven points behind Davis even after two bruising gaffes. Simon has said he will "open his pocketbooks" and fund his own race with millions of dollars of his own money and will use Bush in his commercials if the President approves. This all goes to prove that this race is still winnable so hopefully Bush will reverse his decision to give up the Simon campaign for politically "dead" and campaign with him a few more times before Election Day.

Still in play
Washington Times
9-12-02

"The California gubernatorial race between incumbent Democrat Gov. Gray Davis and Republican challenger Bill Simon is still very much in play," United Press International reports in its Capital Comment column. "A recent statewide Field poll showed Simon trailing Davis by 7 points with both candidates polling at less than 40 percent. This means that voters are still trying to make up their minds and will likely break late — making a last-minute scandal or October surprise potentially devastating — but also increasing the importance that solidly committed voters will play in each campaign," the wire service said.

"Therein lies some good news for Simon, according to a new poll conducted for his campaign by the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies. The survey shows Simon has pulled ahead of Davis 'among voters most likely to vote' in the upcoming Nov. 5 election. Turnout is expected to hit almost historic lows on Election Day, giving the hard-core supporters of each candidate a disproportionate degree of influence on the outcome of the race. "Among 'most likely voters,' Simon leads Davis 41 percent to 36 percent. The survey of 800 voters was conducted after the Field Poll and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. The survey also found that 56 percent of respondents say they want the state to have a new governor, while only 39 percent want Davis re-elected."

[antivenom]

GW also said Simon would be cleared...

[Coop]

so hopefully Bush will reverse his decision to give up the Simon campaign for politically "dead" and campaign with him a few more times before Election Day.

President Bush did no such thing.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Good addition!

calgov2002:

California Laws for Sale

calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. 

calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. 

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[Coop]

Forgot to add, thanks for the new poll info.