OC Register: Judge rejects former Angels employee’s defamation lawsuit against team

[AngelsWin.com]

A defamation lawsuit filed against the Angels and Major League Baseball was dismissed in a ruling issued on Monday by the Orange County Superior Court.

Judge Geoffrey T. Glass issued a ruling stating that fired Angels clubhouse manager Brian Harkins had not shown sufficient evidence that he had been defamed by publicity surrounding his dismissal last March. He was fired for providing pitchers with materials to doctor baseballs, in violation of MLB rules.

A hearing was held on Thursday and the ruling released on Monday.

Glass wrote that there was no evidence that what the Angels suggested Harkins had done was untrue. Also, there was not sufficient evidence that they had publicly defamed him because their statements were made privately, to Harkins, during the process of terminating him.

In news reports after Harkins was fired, the statements about the reasons for his dismissal were all attributed to unnamed sources, not a specific Angels employee, which also limited Harkins’ ability to hold the Angels liable for the statements.

Harkins had worked for the Angels for nearly 40 years, including the last 30 years as the visiting clubhouse manager. He was fired in March 2020, because he provided a product referred to as “Go Go Juice,” which pitchers used to improve their grip on the ball.

Harkins claimed that he was damaged by publicity suggesting that he had provided illegal substances to aid pitchers and also that he had done so at the expense of the Angels, his employers.

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Harkins maintained in his complaint that the product he created to aid pitchers in gripping the baseball was common throughout baseball. He also said Angels players and coaches were aware he was providing it to anyone who asked, on any team.

In documents supporting his case, Harkins named a handful of well-known big league pitchers who had used his product, including Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez and Corey Kluber.

He also listed Angels pitchers such as Troy Percival – who he said helped him create the mixture in the 1990s – and more recently Dylan Bundy, Cam Bedrosian and Keynan Middleton.

View the full article

[jsnpritchett]

Bumping this up, as I just realized that Harkins actually submitted the full text of an Angelswin.com thread as evidence that he'd been defamed. Lol.  Here's a link to his filing:

https://www.scribd.com/document/490096618/ShowDocument-pdf&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwi7o8-cjtjuAhVLtZ4KHZV-AZs4FBAWMAN6BAgFEAE&usg=AOvVaw05ap5W7rLt5n0Fl-gfEw1K

Just enter angelswin in the "search document" box near the top of the page, then click on the first result.  You can scroll down there to see the full thread is included in the filing.

 

[wopphil]

That’s pretty funny. This guy is going to be on the hook for a huge attorneys’ fees bill since the Angels won this motion. 

[Inside Pitch]

He better start selling a lot more Go Go Juice

 

[Blarg]

 I don't think this guy is very bright. He wasn't selling his daughters Girl Scouts Cookies to players, this is some garage formula that has no controls in terms of an ingredient list and possible health hazards applying it to bare skin. That could result in legal action on its own.

It is a business, not a hobby, so he better have kept track of all expenses and recorded the money to the IRS or his lawyer fees are the least of his worries. 

[failos]

Death penalty for this guy

[Blarg]

I don't think he can claim wrongful termination because he was operating a business inside the stadium without consent. 

[Blarg]

You'd think I passed the bar but instead I stopped in for a couple. 

[wopphil]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

I don't think he can claim wrongful termination because he was operating a business inside the stadium without consent. 

At any given time I handle multiple lawsuits claiming wrongful termination where the employee actually quit. I have at least three at the moment. 

[Taylor]

14 minutes ago, wopphil said:

At any given time I handle multiple lawsuits claiming wrongful termination where the employee actually quit. I have at least three at the moment. 

 

6 minutes ago, cals said:

I assume there is a concept of constructive termination where the alleged abuses of the employer were such that the employee had no choice but to quit?

[wopphil]

1 hour ago, cals said:

I assume there is a concept of constructive termination where the alleged abuses of the employer were such that the employee had no choice but to quit?

There is. But these people weren’t constructively terminated. They just want to sue.

[Blarg]

2 hours ago, cals said:

Not this year.

Today. 

[Blarg]

The sports bars aren't closed in certain sections of the IE. Plenty of golf, tennis, basketball and pre-game show was on TV as well. 

[Blarg]

So do I but I had my wife with me.