Erie Reader argues free press protects it from Republican lawmaker's libel suit, while Laughlin says Erie Reader's free status aids him in Erie Reader lawsuit against him over removed newspapers.

The term "free press" is at the core of the two legal disputes between state Sen. Dan Laughlin and the Erie Reader monthly newspaper. But the disputes use the term in different contexts.

A libel lawsuit that Laughlin filed against the Erie Reader hinges on the newspaper's protections under the First Amendment, which guarantees a free press.

A lawsuit that the Erie Reader filed against Laughlin over his and his wife's taking of hundreds of copies of the newspaper has come to focus on the Erie Reader's status as a free press — a newspaper that has no price and is given away at no cost.

As the Erie Reader is relying on the concept of a free press to fight Laughlin's defamation case, Laughlin is citing the Erie Reader's standing as a free publication to try to get the Erie Reader's lawsuit tossed.

Laughlin pushes for dismissal of Erie Reader appeal

Laughlin's lawyers have not denied that he and his wife took hundreds of copies of the Erie Reader in 2022 to prevent people from reading an opinion piece critical of the Republican lawmaker, who lives in Millcreek Township and was first elected in 2016 to represent most of Erie County in the state Senate.

The same opinion piece — which linked Laughlin to then-President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election — triggered Laughlin's libel suit against the Erie Reader and the author of the column, Erie resident Jim Wertz. He is a Democrat running against Laughlin for the state Senate seat on Nov. 5.

But Laughlin's lawyers are contending that removal of the copies of the Erie Reader caused no monetary damages. They claim the Erie Reader lost no money because it places no limits on how many copies of the newspaper a customer may take and because the publication is free.

"The Erie Reader cannot meet its burden of proof that its publication had a fair market value of greater than its advertised price — free!" Laughlins' lawyers in the the case of the removed newspapers said in a filing docketed in Erie County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.

The lawyers, John Mizner and Joseph Caufield, were responding to the Erie Reader's filing of a lawsuit in Common Pleas Court against Laughlin and his wife, Peggy, in late September.

Two Laughlin-related cases docketed in Common Pleas Court

The Erie Reader sued to appeal Erie 2nd Ward District Judge Ed Wilson's dismissal of the suit in August. The Erie Reader asked that Wilson rule in its favor and award $12,000 in damages — the largest amount a plaintiff can claim without a lawsuit first going to Erie County Common Pleas Court, where the Erie Reader's appeal now will be heard via the new lawsuit.

The Erie Reader 's lawyer, Timothy McNair, is arguing that the taking of the copies of the newspaper, though they are free to readers, harmed the Erie Reader by limiting its readership and the range of its advertisements.

The Erie Reader is contending that the Laughlins, who were not charged with a crime, engaged in "criminal activity" in taking copies of the Erie Reader and that the Laughlins' actions "in stealing hundreds of copies of the Plaintiff's publication to which they were not entitled is outrageous."

The column at the center of the case was published in print and online in July 2022. Laughlin claims the column, which appeared in 10,500 print copies of the Erie Reader, misrepresented his views. He is seeking $2 million in damages.

The Erie Reader claims the column is an opinion piece protected under the First Amendment. When he wrote the column, Wertz was a contributing editor at the Erie Reader and he chaired the Erie County Democratic Party. He left both positions when he announced his candidacy for state Senate in December.

Laughlin sued the Erie Reader and Wertz in August 2022. A trial is scheduled for February, though pretrial disputes have slowed the case.

The judge, Christopher St. John, a retired judge from Mercer County, is presiding because Erie County's judges recused themselves. St. John had scheduled a pretrial hearing for Oct. 18, but moved it to Dec. 5 at the request of Laughlin's lawyers in that case.

Original Article by: Ed Palattella or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.