This article appears on the WZEP email news today !
LYNCH SERVED WITH CEASE
& DESIST LETTER
Candidate facing civil suit for defamation
Patty Lynch, a candidate for Walton County Tax Collector, has been served with a cease and desist letter from Walton County Deputy Tax Collector Cory Godwin.
Godwin notified Lynch and a local newspaper of his intent to pursue legal action for false statements of fact amounting to slander and defamation as prohibited by state law.
The demand is in response to a full page political ad Lynch ran in the August 4th edition of the DeFuniak Herald and Beach Breeze newspaper where she accused Godwin of losing his previous employment as the result of illegal activity. She also said Godwin’s current position was created by the current tax collector, Rhonda Skipper, “to compensate him for loss of employment.”
Godwin said while the full page ad mostly included the opinions of the individual, which are rightfully protected as free speech, a line was crossed when libel, malicious, and defamatory statements about him personally were presented as fact.
“I have never been let go, lost a job, or been terminated in my entire life. I also have never been investigated, found to have violated, or otherwise suspected of illegal acts by FDLE, the Department of Corrections Inspector General, or any other investigative agency. A simple request to those agencies, or review of my personnel file would have revealed this.,” said Godwin.
WZEP First News Now made multiple attempts to contact Ms. Lynch for comment but was unsuccessful.
Florida State Statute 836.09 states: "If any person shall state, deliver, or transmit by any means whatever, to the manager, editor, publisher or reporter of any newspaper or periodical for publication therein any false and libelous statement concerning any person, then and there known by such person to be false or libelous, and thereby secure the publication of the same he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree."
State law also states: "Any owner, manager, publisher or editor of any newspaper or other publication who permits any anonymous communication or communications such as is signed otherwise than with the true name of the writer, and such name published therewith to appear in the columns of the publication in which said communication any person is attacked in his or her good name, or it is attempted to bring disgrace or ridicule upon any person, such owner, manager, publisher or editor shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree."
In a letter to Lynch, Godwin’s attorney demanded a retraction of the false statements and said his client believes she was well aware that the statement she published was not true and she chose to avoid seeking accurate information so she could use defamatory claims against him for her own political gain in her race against incumbent Rhonda Skipper.
“Ms Lynch demonstrated malice as well as negligence as minimal research into her assertions would have easily proved them to be false. Fortunately, state law (Florida Statute 836) protects each of us from such false statements of fact that cause harm to us professionally and personally,” Godwin said.
LYNCH SERVED WITH CEASE
& DESIST LETTER
Candidate facing civil suit for defamation
Patty Lynch, a candidate for Walton County Tax Collector, has been served with a cease and desist letter from Walton County Deputy Tax Collector Cory Godwin.
Godwin notified Lynch and a local newspaper of his intent to pursue legal action for false statements of fact amounting to slander and defamation as prohibited by state law.
The demand is in response to a full page political ad Lynch ran in the August 4th edition of the DeFuniak Herald and Beach Breeze newspaper where she accused Godwin of losing his previous employment as the result of illegal activity. She also said Godwin’s current position was created by the current tax collector, Rhonda Skipper, “to compensate him for loss of employment.”
Godwin said while the full page ad mostly included the opinions of the individual, which are rightfully protected as free speech, a line was crossed when libel, malicious, and defamatory statements about him personally were presented as fact.
“I have never been let go, lost a job, or been terminated in my entire life. I also have never been investigated, found to have violated, or otherwise suspected of illegal acts by FDLE, the Department of Corrections Inspector General, or any other investigative agency. A simple request to those agencies, or review of my personnel file would have revealed this.,” said Godwin.
WZEP First News Now made multiple attempts to contact Ms. Lynch for comment but was unsuccessful.
Florida State Statute 836.09 states: "If any person shall state, deliver, or transmit by any means whatever, to the manager, editor, publisher or reporter of any newspaper or periodical for publication therein any false and libelous statement concerning any person, then and there known by such person to be false or libelous, and thereby secure the publication of the same he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree."
State law also states: "Any owner, manager, publisher or editor of any newspaper or other publication who permits any anonymous communication or communications such as is signed otherwise than with the true name of the writer, and such name published therewith to appear in the columns of the publication in which said communication any person is attacked in his or her good name, or it is attempted to bring disgrace or ridicule upon any person, such owner, manager, publisher or editor shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree."
In a letter to Lynch, Godwin’s attorney demanded a retraction of the false statements and said his client believes she was well aware that the statement she published was not true and she chose to avoid seeking accurate information so she could use defamatory claims against him for her own political gain in her race against incumbent Rhonda Skipper.
“Ms Lynch demonstrated malice as well as negligence as minimal research into her assertions would have easily proved them to be false. Fortunately, state law (Florida Statute 836) protects each of us from such false statements of fact that cause harm to us professionally and personally,” Godwin said.
