Citing defamation, Town of Waukesha Supervisor Brian Fischer and his company have filed a lawsuit against former Waukesha Town Chairwoman Angie E. Van Scyoc.
Fischer filed the 16-page complaint with the Waukesha Circuit Court Civil Division last Friday and has included a demand for a 12-person jury.
In the complaint, Fischer maintains that Van Scyoc defamed his name as well as Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc., a local architecture and engineering company, where Fischer works, with statements Van Scyoc made in local media outlets and on a Waukesha-based website.
These include comments after an article published on WaukeshaNow.com in September, a post on Watching Waukesha, a Facebook site dedicated to the Town of Waukesha that is operated by a town resident, a guest opinion piece in the Waukesha Freeman newspaper in October and an email message from Van Scyoc sent to Fischer, Town of Waukesha Chairman John Marek, Town of Waukesha Clerk-Treasurer Jamie Salentine and Town Attorney Hector de la Mora.
The basis of Fischer's complaint is centered on Van Scyoc's comments on Fischer's involvement with issues relating to the Town of Waukesha's septic system.
"It knowingly or recklessly and maliciously impugns not only Mr. Fischer's honesty and integrity, but also his professional competency as an architect and professional engineer of (more than) 35 years' experience," said Fischer and Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc.'s attorney, Edward A. Hannan, in a letter to Van Scyoc on Nov. 1. "The same applies to Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc., as well."
The letter from Hannan Legal LLC was sent to Van Scyoc and demanded retractions on the online sites. It also demanded that she submit a guest opinion to the Waukesha Freeman on Nov. 16 that withdraws every reference to Fischer and his company "to cure and redress the substantial and continuing injuries to (Fischer and Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc.'s) personal, professional and business reputations caused by the knowingly or recklessly false and defamatory statements."
"This action is, in my opinion, another example of the campaign bully tactics I am fighting to stop," Van Scyoc said Tuesday afternoon. "The truth is and will be my defense."
According to the complaint, Van Scyoc, as of 1 p.m. last Friday, had not retracted, withdrawn or removed any of the statements against Fischer. But after Fischer filed the complaint with the county, her attorney, Joan M. Shepard of Nistler & Condon S.C. law office, sent a reply to Fischer's attorney.
Shepard said the defamation law says opinion statements can't be the basis of a defamation action, and that Van Scyoc is protected by conditional privilege when statements concern a public figure and are of public interest.
"The claims of defamation and injury to your clients' personal and professional reputations by our client are without merit," said Shepard, who added Van Scyoc has "ample support for her statements."
"Van Scyoc has support for her assertions and declines to withdraw her statements. The fact you decided to 'serve' Van Scyoc with your correspondence shows an attempt to intimidate her," Shepard wrote.
In the complaint, Fischer's attorney says the statements were done "without regard for either their truth or falsity or adverse impact on the personal and professional reputations of Fischer and the business reputation of Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc."
The complaint says that Fischer and Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc. is entitled to punitive damages in an amount to be determined because "Fischer has suffered, will continue to suffer and sustain injury and damage to his trade, and his personal and professional reputations."
Shepard countered: "Should your clients proceed with a legal action, our opinion is that your client is unlikely to prevail. Further, my client will most certainly bring a defamation counterclaim based on the malicious and false statements repeatedly made by your client in the newspaper and in public meetings.
"My client is not choosing to initiate a suit, but my client will not back down in the event your client chooses to do so. The systematic harassment by your client and others in leadership in the town must stop."