Lawsuit dismissed for drawing too much publicity

By The Associated Press

08.26.02

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DETROIT — A judge has dismissed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. because the plaintiff illegally generated publicity that could have influenced potential jurors.

Wayne Circuit Judge William J. Giovan ruled that Justine Maldonado and her attorneys violated state law by staging protests, distributing leaflets, and providing information to the news media about a defendant's criminal history and allegations that he harassed other women, The Detroit News reported in a story yesterday.

"The behavior in question has been intentional, premeditated, and intransigent," Giovan said in his decision.

"It was designed to reach the farthest boundaries of the public consciousness. It should be presumed to have had its intended effect."

Maldonado, a worker at the Wixom Assembly Plant in suburban Detroit, alleged that Dan Bennett, a supervisor, exposed himself to her on three occasions and demanded sex.

In 1995, Bennett was convicted of exposing himself to three women while driving a company car on a suburban Detroit freeway. But the conviction was later expunged from his record.

The court ruled in June that Bennett's conviction and his alleged behavior toward other women could not be used as evidence at trial.

Ford cited the pretrial publicity in asking Giovan to throw out the case.

Attorney Miranda Massie, who represents Maldonado, said the ruling violates free-speech rights.

"We're going to immediately appeal," Massie said. "Pretrial publicity is simply not a basis for dismissing a case."

Ford attorney Elizabeth Hardy said Massie is "twisting" the judge's decision.

"They want the focus to be on squelching free speech, but that's not the issue here," Hardy said. "The issue is misconduct. Dismissing a case for misconduct is by no means unprecedented."