Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. is again asking the courts to drop him, his podcast and the city from the ongoing lawsuit with the former Lake County Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Speros Batistatos.
Calling Batistatos’s suit to rejoin them “merely the continuation of a longstanding political feud by other means,” attorneys with Hammond firm Eichorn & Eichorn earlier this month filed a motion to dismiss the three entities from a suit Batistatos filed at the state level in August. U.S. District Judge Damon Leichty, who’s presiding over Batistatos’s federal lawsuit, wrote in a July 31 order that once former U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen severed McDermott, the city and his “Left of Center” podcast from the suit in 2023, his court no longer holds jurisdiction, the Post-Tribune previously reported.
“Through his complaint, Batistatos means to retaliate against the City and Mayor McDermott for their political speech, attempting to silence his political opponents and make their speech on public issues far more costly,” attorney John Twohy wrote in the motion. “The Court should reject this gambit by dismissing Batistatos’ defamation and ‘injurious falsehood’ claims under the Indiana ‘anti-SLAPP’ law … In addition, the Indiana Tort Claims Act … immunizes Mayor McDermott against individual liability on plaintiff’s tort claims.”
Anti-SLAPP laws “prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate people who are exercising their First Amendment rights,” according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s website.
McDermott on Wednesday said on his social media page that Batistatos “cannot use lawsuits to silence citizens who exercise their First Amendment rights to question how public agencies are run.”
“Mr. Batistatos’s lawsuit against me and my podcast, Left of Center (LOCPOD), is a textbook example of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. I exercised my constitutional right to express my opinions about the management of a publicly funded agency — opinions that were later validated when the SSCVB Board investigated and took appropriate action,” McDermott wrote. “After that, Mr. Batistatos chose to sue me for doing exactly what citizens are entitled — and encouraged — to do: hold public officials accountable.
“This Anti-SLAPP motion seeks to correct that wrong and reaffirm that political speech, criticism of government, and public accountability are not just protected rights — they are the foundation of democracy.”
Batistatos deferred comment to his attorneys Sandra Blevins and Courtney Endwright; neither returned comment by press time.
Batistatos sued the SSCVA in August 2022 — a month after it fired him — alleging it violated the law in the handling of his contract renegotiations due to his age — he was 58 at the time — as well as misspent federal Payroll Protection Plan funds in violation of the CARES Act, a claim the board disputes, the Post-Tribune previously reported. His suit named the SSCVA as well as CVA Board President Andy Qunell and board members Matt Schuffert, Hard Rock Casino general manager; local restaurateur Brent Brashier; Tom Dabertin; and local real estate agent Matt Maloney.
Notices of intent to sue were also sent to McDermott and attorney Kevin Smith for $2.5 million for defamation for their actions around the time Batistatos was relieved of his duties by the board.
In the notice sent to McDermott, Batistatos alleged McDermott conspired and made a backdoor deal with the SSCVA board to dismiss a pending lawsuit against the SSCVA if Payroll Protection Plan funds were given out to aid his and other municipalities. He also said McDermott “stated he would dismiss the lawsuit if Mr. Batistatos were terminated from his position at the SSCVA,” as well as making other “numerous defamatory statements” against Batistatos on McDermott’s podcast with Kevin Smith entitled Left of Center Podcast, according to the document.
On June 18, Van Bokkelen filed three orders: one denying the dismissal of Batistatos’s lawsuit and one removing McDermott in his official capacity as mayor from it, the Post-Tribune previously reported, but McDermott as himself and the city of Hammond would remain on the suit.
The third motion allowed Batistatos to refile his suit against McDermott’s Left of Center Media LLC and Left of Center podcast, court documents said.
Since McDermott was removed from the federal suit in his mayoral capacity, Batistatos filed a civil suit against McDermott in Lake County court; the case has been assigned to Lake County Civil Court Judge Daniel Burke, though Batistatos can opt to file for a venue change.
In May, Burke was sworn in as a civil court judge by Circuit Court Judge Marissa McDermott, the wife of the Hammond Mayor. Burke, a former Lake County Deputy Prosecutor, previously served as a Court Referee in McDermott’s court.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
