ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County property appraiser Rick Singh announced Tuesday morning that he is teaming up with Morgan & Morgan to file a libel lawsuit against the individuals responsible for the alleged smear ads that were sent out during the campaign season.
Singh, attorney Belvin Perry and attorney Frank Kruppenbacher hosted a media event at the Morgan & Morgan building in downtown Orlando at 11:30 a.m.
The lawsuit alleges that political action committees and other unnamed parties spent $3.4 million on mailers, television ads and other materials to spread falsehoods about Singh between Sept. 1 and the Nov. 8 election.
"It's an issue that strikes at the very heart of our democracy. This is a classic example, not of fake news, but news that is told that is malicious and false," Perry said.
Kruppenbacher said these materials publicized bogus claims that Singh was arrested in 1988, that a judgment was entered against Singh in 1993 and that Singh changed his named to Rick for "a number of nefarious purposes, all of which are untrue."
Singh filed the lawsuit as a private citizen, meaning no tax dollars will be spent on the legal battle. The complaint asks for in excess of $25,000 in damages. Attorneys said the monetary damages, if collected, would be donated to charity.
Up to six defendants will be named in the lawsuit within the next 90 days. Kruppenbacher would not say if any of the local theme parks, including Disney World and SeaWorld, would be named as part of the lawsuit.
"I do think economics is the motive behind trying to take out a property appraiser with this kind of money," Kruppenbacher said.
Attorneys said the main goal of this lawsuit is to uncover who invested millions of dollars into the smear campaign, why they would do so and if they planned to alter the course of the election.
“When you have that kind of money put into a race – it begs that questions – if you’re willing to invest $3.4 (million), what is your return? People don’t invest that kind of money unless they expect some sort of return,” Perry said.
Perry said the ultimate goal is to stop the "foolishness" that goes into hurling untrue accusations in order to tip elections.
Kruppenbacher added that this lawsuit is the first of its kind in Florida.
“This is the first case, I think, with a defined effort to identify who wrote it, who funded it," Kruppenbacher said.
Singh also said the lawsuit does not mean he is planning to run for Orange County mayor, which some have speculated in the past few weeks.
"Is that the right office for me? I don't know at this time. So again, it's all speculative. It's all a tough decision," Singh said. "I'm flattered that the citizens of Orange County have put my name into the list of many names that have been named. So right now, it's still an ongoing process for me."