A hearing in small claims court over the Erie Reader newspaper's lawsuit against state Sen. Dan Laughlin has been postponed a month, and the case now involves lawyers.

The hearing had been scheduled for Thursday before Erie 2nd Ward District Judge Ed Wilson. The new date is Aug. 21, also before Wilson, according to court records.

The Erie Reader sued the Laughlins on June 11. Scheduling conflicts led to the new hearing date, said John Mizner, the lawyer representing the Laughlins.

Mizner entered his appearance in the case on July 12. The lawyer for the Erie Reader, Timothy McNair, entered his appearance on July 9.

The Erie Reader is demanding $12,000 in damages from Laughlin and his wife, Peggy, over claims that the couple removed hundreds of copies of the free monthly newspaper from convenience stores and other locations in Erie County starting around July 13, 2022.

Requests for damages are capped at $12,000 in civil cases filed before district magistrates. Lawsuits that request higher damages go to Erie County Common Pleas Court.

Trump-related column sparks two lawsuits

The Laughlins were upset over a column in the Erie Reader's issue of July 13, 2022, according to court records. The column was related to former President Donald Trump and was critical of Dan Laughlin, a fellow Republican from Millcreek Township whose 49th District encompasses most of Erie County.

The writer of the column is Erie resident Jim Wertz, the former chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party who is the Democratic nominee for state Senate for the 49th District. Wertz, an Erie resident, is opposing Laughlin in the Nov. 5 election.

The Erie Reader's civil complaint against the Laughlins is related to other litigation. The case grew out of a libel suit that Laughlin filed against the Erie Reader and Wertz in Erie County Common Pleas Court in August 2022.

Laughlin claims Wertz's column defamed him, and he is seeking $1 million in damages against Wertz and the Erie Reader. The Erie Reader and Wertz are arguing that the column was not defamatory and is protected under the First Amendment. The judge in the libel case is working through pretrial issues and has scheduled a trial for January.

Erie resident Jim Wertz, the former chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party, is the Democratic nominee for state Senate in the race against the incumbent, state Sen. Dan Laughlin, of Millcreek Township, R-49th Dist. Laughlin is suing Wertz and the Erie Reader newspaper over a column that Wertz wrote about Laughlin that the Erie Reader published in July 2022.

Depositions the Laughlins gave in the libel case prompted the Erie Reader to sue over the removed newspapers, a co-editor of the Erie Reader, Adam Welsh, has said. He said the Laughlins in the depositions said they took copies of the newspapers in response to Wertz's column, which the Erie Reader also posted online. Welsh said the print run for the issue was 10,500 copies.

Column focused on Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol

The column at the center of the legal disputes was called "A Congressman and a State Senator Walk Into a Bar." The title referred to Laughlin and fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, of Butler, whose 16th Congressional District includes Erie.

Wertz in the column claimed Laughlin and Kelly "found themselves on a pardon request list" before Trump following the attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Kelly held a news conference to criticize the column. Unlike Laughlin, Kelly did not sue.

The contentiousness between Laughlin and the Erie Reader has extended into the Erie Reader's lawsuit over the removed newspapers. Welsh said the removal of the papers cost the Erie Reader money and that advertisers expected the papers to be available to read.

"So much goes into this print edition — time, ink, paper — all of it," Welsh said in a previous interview. "We are looking to recoup the costs caused by the defendants."

Dan Laughlin has characterized the civil complaint as the Erie Reader's attempt to distract attention from the underlying libel case.

"This civil suit is a childish attempt to divert public attention from the fact they printed a defamatory article," Laughlin said in a previous statement to the Erie Times-News.

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