ROT IS ORDERED TO PAY DEFENDANTS’ COSTS, BUT CONTINUES TO REPEAT THE “BIG LIE”
On July 9, 2024, the Honorable Frank Moskowitz entered the final judgment in the action: Reclaim Our Town and Crystal Cavanaugh v. Ginny Dickey, et al.
In the Final Judgment, Judge Moskowitz denied all the relief requested by ROT in its Complaint “for the reasons set forth in Defendants’ Closing Statements and Closing Arguments.”
For months, we have reported the facts and the legal principles law that would determine the outcome: ROT would lose. In response to our reporting Cavanaugh responded only with taunting posts on social media and repeatedly accused us of lying. Cavanaugh repeatedly refused to identify the lies, saying said she would do so only after the litigation was concluded. ROT has 30 days to file an appeal. There are no valid grounds for filing an appeal. On August 9, will Cavanaugh fulfill her commitment and identify the “lies”? Not likely.
The court’s order has established that from the time the town clerk refused to accept the defective signature pages, it is Cavanaugh and Larry Meyers who have been lying. In paragraph 7 of the Final Judgment the Court wrote: “For all the reasons set forth in the Merits Decision (and the Defendants’ respective written closing statements), this Court enters final judgment for the Defendants and against Plaintiffs on every claim in the Complaint. (emphasis added)
In the Final Judgment the court found that ROT’s claim that Linda Mendenhall, the Town Clerk, provided Meyers with an erroneously numbered petition sheet was a “complete fabrication.” In light of the court’s findings, it is incredible that, even after the Final Judgment was entered, Cavanaugh continues to repeat the “big lie.” In response to the Fountain Hills Times’ request for a comment on the Final Judgment, Cavanaugh offered a slightly modified version of the “big lie” as follows: “Larry Meyers, treasurer, was provided a flawed signature petition form by the town clerk that contained a tiny, pre-printed number on the backside that resembled a form number.” (emphasis added)
Cavanaugh and Meyers have no shame. Rather than finally admit to their own negligence and accept the judgment, they continue to blame the Town Clerk for the Referendum’s failure by reframing the “big lie.” The lie, as recently restated by Cavanaugh, is even more absurd than those offered by Cavanaugh and Meyers in the past.
Cavanaugh is now claiming that ROT did not print the correct petition number (REF2024-01) on the back side of the form because they believed that a 10-digit number (REF2019-01) the petition number assigned to the Daybreak Referendum, was a “form number” – a number assigned to a particular type of official form by the Secretary of State.
The “big lie” has evolved over time. In her initial report to ROT’s supporters, Cavanaugh offered the following version: “The Town gave us a form with a pre-printed tiny number on the notary page that went undetected by the team.” (emphasis added)
In his Sworn Declaration, submitted to the Court on March 24, Meyers provided another version: “On the back of the petition sheet provided by Town Clerk Mendenhall, Exhibit 1, the space in the lower right-hand corner was filled in with “REF2019-01” and there was no space for the applicant to place its petition number.” (Meyer’s Sworn Declaration, paragraph 4, emphasis added.)
It is now clear that Cavanaugh and Meyers will never acknowledge, let alone apologize, for the fact that their negligence was the direct cause of the Referendum’s failure. The only good news arising out of this debacle is that ROT has been ordered to pay the Defendants just under $4,200 in costs for pursuing this frivolous litigation.
It is not clear where this money will come from.
According to ROT’s First Quarter Campaign Finance Statement Cavanaugh’s companion, Tim Maas, loaned $7,500 to the PAC; this loan corresponds with the amount paid to ROT’s lawyers. It is likely that additional fees have been incurred since that statement was filed.
Hopefully, ROT will not attempt to repay the “loan” or pay additional fees incurred with the money donated by residents under the mistaken belief that they were being told the truth.