Judge: Lake can't legally challenge Richer's defamation allegations
A judge found that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake no longer has a legal right to argue she did not defame Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a fellow Republican.
Richer filed a lawsuit against Lake after she repeatedly claimed without evidence that he sabotaged the 2022 gubernatorial election she lost to Katie Hobbs. Lake’s attorneys filed a motion for default judgment on Tuesday in that civil suit.
That, Richer’s attorneys said, is an admission that Lake and her campaign did defame Richer.
“Ms. Lake has effectively conceded the issue of liability on whether or not she committed defamation as alleged in our complaint,” attorney Jared Davidson said.
But, in the motion, Lake’s attorneys argued that was not the case — a sentiment echoed by Lake herself in social media posts and interviews.
“It is often said that defaulting admits the allegations in the operative complaint. This is a misnomer,” Lake’s attorneys wrote.
But, in an order issued Thursday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman noted that Lake has lost her legal right to contest Richer’s allegations in the case.
“It is worth noting that — pursuant to well-established Arizona law — a defaulted party loses all rights to litigate the merits of the cause of action,” Adleman wrote.
The only issue left to resolve, Adleman wrote, is what damages Richer is entitled to.
Lake’s attorneys requested a hearing to determine those damages. Adleman ordered the parties to meet by April 19 to work out the case’s schedule moving forward. A status conference is scheduled for April 24.
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