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    Rik Mehta To Phil Stilton and Shore News Network

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    Rise Up Ocean County
    The letter is from a lawyer representing the Rik Mehta for U.S. Senate campaign. It rejects an offer of support from the Shore News Network and its editor, Phil Stilton. The letter accuses SNN and Stilton of conspiring to commit slander against Mehta, providing illegal campaign donations to an opponent, and publishing demonstrably false and damaging articles about Mehta. The letter demands that SNN remove all references to and articles about Mehta to mitigate damages, and cease publishing any information about Mehta, or face legal action.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Rik Mehta To Phil Stilton and Shore News Network

    Uploaded by

    Rise Up Ocean County
    236 views2 pages
    The letter is from a lawyer representing the Rik Mehta for U.S. Senate campaign. It rejects an offer of support from the Shore News Network and its editor, Phil Stilton. The letter accuses SNN and Stilton of conspiring to commit slander against Mehta, providing illegal campaign donations to an opponent, and publishing demonstrably false and damaging articles about Mehta. The letter demands that SNN remove all references to and articles about Mehta to mitigate damages, and cease publishing any information about Mehta, or face legal action.

    Original Description:

    Cease and Desist

    Original Title

    Rik Mehta to Phil Stilton and Shore News Network

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    The letter is from a lawyer representing the Rik Mehta for U.S. Senate campaign. It rejects an offer of support from the Shore News Network and its editor, Phil Stilton. The letter accuses SNN and Stilton of conspiring to commit slander against Mehta, providing illegal campaign donations to an opponent, and publishing demonstrably false and damaging articles about Mehta. The letter demands that SNN remove all references to and articles about Mehta to mitigate damages, and cease publishing any information about Mehta, or face legal action.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    236 views2 pages

    Rik Mehta To Phil Stilton and Shore News Network

    Uploaded by

    Rise Up Ocean County
    The letter is from a lawyer representing the Rik Mehta for U.S. Senate campaign. It rejects an offer of support from the Shore News Network and its editor, Phil Stilton. The letter accuses SNN and Stilton of conspiring to commit slander against Mehta, providing illegal campaign donations to an opponent, and publishing demonstrably false and damaging articles about Mehta. The letter demands that SNN remove all references to and articles about Mehta to mitigate damages, and cease publishing any information about Mehta, or face legal action.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Azzolini Benedetti

    Post Office Box 12


    Florham Park, New Jersey 07932
    Telephone (973) 966-5544
    Facsimile (973) 966-6897
    [email protected]

    September 11, 2020

    Mr. Phil Stilton


    Editor, Shore News Network
    6 Kennedy Court
    Jackson Township, NJ 08527

    Dear Mr. Stilton,

    I have been retained by the Rik Mehta for U.S. Senate campaign, to respond to your e-
    mail of today that is offering coordinated in-kind support to his campaign on your behalf
    from yourself and the Shore News Network (SNN). Mr. Mehta and his campaign are not
    interested in being associated with you or SNN, and therefore reject your offer and ask
    that you immediately remove this ad, and any reference to Mr. Mehta from your
    publication.

    As you are, or should be aware, you and SNN conspired to commit slanderous and
    false charges against Mr. Mehta, thus libeling Mr. Mehta and his campaign. You and
    SNN also provided illegal unreported donations in support of one of Mr. Mehta’s primary
    opponents, for which an FEC complaint has been filed against you.

    We ask that you immediately remove the ‘banner ads’ that you have indicated you want
    to provide to his campaign, as well as any other references to him and his campaign –
    including, likenesses, images or logos.

    Further, we request that you remove all previously published articles regarding Mr.
    Mehta and / or his campaign – virtually all of which contain false and slanderous
    information – such libel was even contained in articles published by SNN after the July
    2020 Primary election.

    You have published information that is unequivocally and demonstrably false and made
    with actual malice within the meaning of the landmark case New York Times v. Sullivan
    376 U.S. 254 (1964)1 and the New Jersey case of Lynch v. NJEA2.

    1
    Holds that perpetrator knew or should have known that a statement regarding a public figure was false or
    reckless and published without any reasonable investigation as to the accuracy of the information.
    2
    Lynch v. NJEA, 161 N.J. 152, 166 (1999)
    This illegal, intentional publication has caused, and will continue to cause, irreparable
    harm to Rik Mehta and his campaign unless there are immediate actions to cease and
    desist in distributing this false information and to mitigate the damages created by your
    actions.

    Per Lynch v. NJEA, 161 N.J. 152, 166 (1999), there is a three-pronged standard
    regarding defamation per se that is met here: 1. False statement about a public figure
    published / communicated to a third person, 2. Damaging to the subject’s reputation, 3.
    Published knowingly or recklessly disclosing the false information.

    We, therefore, demand that you immediately cease and desist in publishing and / or
    broadcasting any information promoting Mr. Mehta and / or his campaign and or
    publishing and / or broadcasting false and libelous statements or communicating any
    other defamatory, slanderous or libelous information regarding Mr. Mehta and / or his
    campaign in any form of media - spoken, written, visual and electronic. Further, we
    demand that you immediately mitigate the damages already caused by removing the
    previously referenced published information.

    You will satisfy our demand that damages are mitigated by removing all materials
    regarding Mr. Mehta that are currently published on SNN and any of its related
    publications; and further, by not coordinating support with Mr. Mehta - as he has no
    interest in being associated with you and / or SNN due to your past malfeasance
    targeting him, as memorialized above.

    Failure to comply with the requests herein will result in our taking immediate legal action
    to enjoin your behavior and seek remedies through maximum compensatory and
    punitive damages to the full extent of the law.

    Very truly yours,

    /s/ Alan J. Zakin

    Alan J. Zakin

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