BROWN FILES DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST GOP, FENTON & JORDAN OVER SLANDEROUS ATTACK AD

(MT. LAUREL, NJ) – Disgusted and incensed that the Burlington County GOP is maliciously attacking his good name and reputation in a slanderous television ad, Evesham Deputy Mayor and Freeholder Candidate Chris Brown today filed a civil complaint in Burlington County Superior Court against the Burlington County Republican Committee, Freeholder Aubrey Fenton, Freeholder Stacy Jordan and Clerk candidate Gary Woodend.  The complaint charges the county GOP, Fenton, Jordan and Woodend with defamation of character, seeking compensatory and punitive damages.  A second lawsuit against Fenton for defamatory conduct from his last campaign three years ago is presently on trial track in New Jersey Superior Court, Camden County.

“I’m suing my opponents for running a slanderous, false and malicious attack ad against me,” said Brown.  “This ad is outrageous, disgusting and represents everything that is wrong with the Republican Party and county government.”

In the lawsuit, Chris Brown explains that the false and defamatory advertisements arise from allegations that Brown violated the Evesham municipal “pay-to-play” ordinance found in Sections 27-5 through 27-13 of the Evesham Code.  The Evesham “pay-to-play” ordinance does not, however, prohibit, criminalize, or punish a candidate for office in the Township of Evesham or the County of Burlington who accepts a contribution from a business entity in excess of the threshold defined in the ordinance.

The Republicans, in disseminating the inaccurate information to the public, have acted in a grossly irresponsible manner, with reckless disregard for the standards of truth and veracity ordinarily followed by responsible persons, and they knew when making those statements that a false impression would be made.  Fenton published these statements with malice in an attempt to discredit, malign, and impugn the honesty and integrity of Chris Brown.

“My actions today send a very clear message to the voters and my opponents: enough is enough,” said Brown.  “I’m asking the voters to reject this scorched earth campaign, reject the malicious attacks, and judge me on my qualifications and plan for Burlington County.” 

Burlington County Democratic Chair Richard Perr said that this isn’t the first time Fenton has run a false and malicious attack advertisement.  "Fenton is currently being sued for his defamatory conduct from the last time he ran for freeholder.  Although the GOP tried to have that suit dismissed five times, a Superior Court Judge has determined that the case should go to trial and that Fenton's improper conduct needs to be judged by a jury.

“In 2005, Fenton also ran an ad suggesting that one of our candidates was connected to organized crime, without a single ounce of evidence to prove it,” said Perr.  “He has a well documented history of running character assassinating campaigns.  He can’t run on his record, so he’s running on lies.  It’s absolutely disgusting and voters should be outraged.”

“The Republicans have stooped to an all-time low smear campaign,” said Brown.  “This campaign has been reduced to playground-style name calling.  This lawsuit is being filed not just for me, but to send a message to career politicians that citizens are tired of the lies and character assassination."

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