Fairfield Facebook Post Lawsuit Dropped Due To ‘Safety Concerns’

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield man has dropped a lawsuit against a Representative Town Meeting member that was brought in response to a Facebook post in which the local official criticized comments the man made about racial issues in town.

Jason Gladstone, a Fairfield resident and New Canaan attorney, withdrew his complaint June 30 against representative Laura Karson, D-District 4. Gladstone had accused Karson of intentional emotional distress, negligent emotional duress, defamation and civil conspiracy.

“I decided to withdraw the case over safety concerns for my family,” Gladstone said in a prepared statement.

The conflict that led to the complaint was born out of an email sent March 19 by Fairfield Public Schools Superintendent Mike Cummings, in which he noted increasing violence against Asian Americans, acknowledged the need for the community to recognize inherent biases and committed to anti-racism within the school district, according to court documents.

Gladstone responded to the email, telling Cummings he was offended the superintendent “would insinuate that I am inherently racist or biased,” and copying parents and elected officials on the message.

Karson later emailed First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, asking her to defend Cummings and stating that Gladstone’s words were an example of white fragility, court documents said. After sending the email, Karson posted a copy of the message in the political advocacy Facebook group Fairfield Standing United.

“Representative Laura Karson did not respond to me directly, but decided to secretly defame me to First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, later post that same defamatory email on a Facebook page of which I had no knowledge and then encouraged a mob to defame me,” Gladstone said in the statement.

In an amended complaint filed June 24, Gladstone sought damages, claiming he suffered from nausea, headaches, fear of injury, and feelings of shame, guilt and embarrassment as a result of Karson’s actions. He also submitted as part of the case an anonymous letter from a person who identified themself as “The Voice of Reason” and called Gladstone a “right-wing snowflake” and “a poster-boy for white, male privilege.”

Prior to the lawsuit’s withdrawal, Karson filed and later amended a motion to dismiss the complaint, citing her rights to free speech, government petition, and association with a matter of public concern.

“In my opinion, this case was a travesty of justice,” Karson said in a prepared statement. “If he had continued to sue me, I believe that I would have won that motion, in which case Mr. Gladstone would have had to have paid my legal fees. I believe this is why he withdrew the case. The right to free speech is fundamental to our democracy, and no one should ever feel restricted or intimidated by the threat of legal action, in expressing their opinions, especially when it comes to matters of public interest.”

Gladstone also in April sought a prejudgment remedy, arguing Karson should pay him $1 million, but it was denied, according to a court order.

Additionally, Gladstone filed but later withdrew a motion to cite several more defendants, including multiple people connected to the Democratic Party in Fairfield, who he claimed posted defamatory comments related to Karson’s statement, court documents said.

Jason Gladstone’s full statement

“There are no winners or losers in this case. I simply sent an email to Mike Cummings demanding he shift his focus toward returning the students back to school after a year of damaging lockdowns, and copied elected officials. Representative Laura Karson did not respond to me directly, but decided to secretly defame me to First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, later post that same defamatory email on a Facebook page of which I had no knowledge and then encouraged a mob to defame me. There has been a lot of inaccurate reporting regarding the circumstances surrounding this case, and (I) request those interested to read the amended complaint, which defines my allegations in detail. I choose to set the highest example for my children to follow, which does not include defaming, attacking, threatening and intimidating people online. I decided to withdraw the case over safety concerns for my family and wanted to thank everyone for their private and public support.”

Laura Karson’s full statement

“The case against me has been withdrawn by Jason Gladstone. In my opinion, this case was a travesty of justice. I believe there was absolutely no merit to any of the claims Mr. Gladstone made against me. As you may know, this withdrawal was filed days after I filed a special motion to dismiss against Mr. Gladstone, pursuant to the Anti-SLAPP statute. This statute is designed to deter lawsuits which are brought to try to intimidate people from exercising their freedom of speech. If he had continued to sue me, I believe that I would have won that motion, in which case Mr. Gladstone would have had to have paid my legal fees. I believe this is why he withdrew the case.

“The right to free speech is fundamental to our democracy, and no one should ever feel restricted or intimidated by the threat of legal action, in expressing their opinions, especially when it comes to matters of public interest. From the outset, my only intention was to speak up in support of Superintendent Michael Cummings and his message about the importance of doing more to combat racism and address racial equity in our town and local schools. We, as a community, should continue in this effort.”