EV V R T Vol. 33, No.51 -FREEE E E T www.adv.net dv Your Local News & Sports Online–Subscribe Here! ou D OCAT Free Every Friday 617-387-2200 T he owner and publisher/ editor of the now-defunct Everett Leader Herald paid the ultimate price for knowingly publishing a series of fake news stories in an organized campaign to discredit and publicly humiliate Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria. It cost them $1.1 million in damages and the life of the weekly newspaper, which was fi rst established in 1885. Those were the key components of a settlement agreed to by Leader Herald Owner Matthew Philbin and Publisher/Editor Joshua Resnek. That was an expensive option, but one they preferred over going to trial next month in Middlesex Superior Court to defend themselves in the defamation lawsuit fi led by the mayor back in 2021. During a press conference at the law offi ces of Saul Ewing LLP in Boston on Monday, Mayor Carlo DeMaria, shown with his wife, Stacy, delivered a statement regarding the awarded settlement he will receive in the defamation case against the Everett Leader Herald. (Advocate photo by Emily Harney) “This is a rare amount [damages] and a very high amount to be awarded in a case like this,” Boston Attorney Jeff rey Robbins, a Partner at Saul Ewing LLP, told The Everett Advocate in an interview this week. “I’m not aware of a politiSINCE 1921 Messinger Insurance Agency 475 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Phone: 617-387-2700 Fax: 617-387-7753 NEW COMPETITIVE AUTO RATES AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE ACCIDENT FORGIVENESS DISAPPEARING COLLISION DEDUCTIBLE 11% DISCOUNT WITH SUPPORTING POLICY 10% COMBINED PAY IN FULL DISCOUNT AND GREEN DISCOUNT 10% GOOD STUDENT DISCOUNT Celebrating 100 years of excellence! Monday thru Friday: 8am to 6pm Saturdays 9am to 1pm! Check out our NEW website! www.messingerinsurance.com UP & IN: Everett High’s Luna Morales goes up for a basket as a Revere player attempts to block the shot during last Thursday’s action at the RHS Fieldhouse. The Crimson Tide boys basketball team opened their season with a win against Revere. See inside for story and photo highlights. (Advocate Photo by Emily Harney) ADVOCTE Friday, December 20, 2024 A Victory Over Journalistic Dishonesty Mayor DeMaria clears name and wins $1.1 million settlement that puts Everett Leader Herald out of business By Mark E. Vogler cian who has ever received an award in a defamation case that comes close to this. Nothing remotely close,” Robbins said. Robbins and Saul Ewing Attorneys Joseph Lipchitz and Paige Schroeder represented Mayor DeMaria in his lawsuit against the Leader Herald, its owner and its publisher/editor. Owner Philibin could not be reached for comment. Publisher/Editor Resnek did not return a telephone call left on his answering machine. In his interview with The Everett Advocate, Robbins called the case “the most egregious example of professional misconduct and dishonesty by a newspaper” that he can recall during his 42 years of practicing law. “The American citizen has a very low view of the media right now,” Robbins said. “And this is the kind of set of facts that feeds right into that,” he said. Mayor agrees to drop lawsuit Robbins and Mayor DeMaria announced the settlement of his lawsuit during a press conference held Monday in the Boston office of Saul Ewing LLP. Court documents related to the settlement remained confi dential. But Robbins met with reporters to explain how that settlement was reached. “The size of the payment by the defendants to Mayor DeMaria and their shutting down of the newspaper speaks volumes about the egregiousness of the defendants’ conduct, which the paper’s publisher and editor has already MAYOR | SEE PAGE 8 Let the Season Begin
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