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By MICHAEL McNARNEY mmcnarney@leader.net
Wednesday, March 05, 2003 Page: 3A
WILKES-BARRE – The city’s insurance carriers will be notified of a
defamation lawsuit filed against Mayor Tom McGroarty, though it’s still not
clear if the policies will cover the mayor.
Renee Valenti, who works for Joseph J. Joyce Associates in Pittston – the
city’s insurer – said the company could not comment further until it consults
with city officials.
Tom Torbik of Moosic, a partner in the Ramada Inn, sued McGroarty on
Monday, alleging the mayor has damaged his professional and personal
reputation.
Torbik disputes in the suit, among other things, McGroarty’s claims that
Torbik benefited as a hotel partner from a loan used to help build the hotel.
McGroarty on Tuesday would not comment on the suit, saying he had not yet
been served with it.
The mayor said Torbik – who chaired the City Council-appointed
investigative committee when it studied the theater and call center projects –
sued to cause “political problems.”
City Attorney Tim Henry said he met with McGroarty Tuesday about an
unrelated matter and the Torbik suit did not come up. Henry said that since he
has not yet seen a copy of the suit, he could not say for sure if McGroarty
would be covered.
“If it’s a personal issue, this might be something the mayor defends
himself,” Henry said.
The city’s public-official liability carrier is United National Specialty
Insurance Company of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., and its general liability carrier is
Housing and Development Insurance Exchange of Dunmore.
Torbik sued McGroarty individually and not in his capacity as the mayor.
However, one attorney who studies defamation law said he believes McGroarty
will be covered by the city’s insurance anyway.
“If the city’s liability policy covers defamation actions – if it does –
then the city’s insurance policy will cover the mayor since the entire dispute
arises out of Mayor McGroarty’s performance as mayor,” Wilkes-Barre attorney
Ralph Kates said.
Kates and a second attorney, Terri Henning of the Pennsylvania Newspaper
Association in Harrisburg, each said a key component of the case will be
whether or not Torbik is found to be a public figure instead of a private
figure.
Henning said that if a judge finds Torbik to be a public figure, he must
prove that the statements were made with `actual malice’ – knowledge of their
false nature or with reckless disregard for whether the statements were true
or false.
If Torbik is found to be a private figure, Henning said, he would only have
to prove that the statements were made negligently.
Kates said the burdens of proof required for defamation plaintiffs like
Torbik are among the most difficult in civil law. That’s why, Kates said, the
vast majority of such cases are decided in favor of the defendant before they
go to trial.
Michael McNarney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7305.