MONTICELLO – Sullivan County Legislator Luis Alvarez feels vindicated after a county jury late Thursday found that Legislature Chairman Rob Doherty defamed him by claiming that Alvarez called a female county commissioner a “c**t.”
Alverez began a lawsuit against Doherty in the spring 2021, claiming he acted with actual malice and recklessly made the allegations knowing they were false. Following a three-day trial, the jury of four women and two men agreed.
Alvarez testified at trial that he never called the commissioner that word, but in cross testimony the woman said that he had, in fact called her that word.
“While I vehemently disagree with the decision in this case, I accept the jury’s verdict as that is how our judicial system works,” Doherty said on Friday. “I continue to stand by my actions and remain proud of my defense of a female county employee, who by her own testimony, was wrongly attacked and insulted by another county legislator. This decision in no way alters the unanimous determination of the County Board of Ethics which previously found that Mr. Alvarez had been verbally abusive toward the employee in question.”
Legislator Nadia Rajsz testified at trial that she has worked closely with Alvarez in the legislature and has never heard him speak in that manner.
Alvarez was not seeking any money for damages, but said he filed the suit to clear his name and reputation. “All the money in this world is not as meaningful as a jury of our peers finding that Mr. Doherty defamed me in two ways,” Alvarez said. “He recklessly accused me of a despicable act, damaging my well-earned reputation. He then had the gall to claim that this baseless allegation was ‘founded’ when he knew full well that my accuser had failed to ever even raise any such claim when speaking about my conduct to either the director of Human Services or the Ethics Board.”
Both Alvarez and Doherty are up for re-election this November.
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