Egger Civil ‘Defamation’ Suit Against Hubbard Mother And Daughter Will Go To Trial April 11

After hearing motions from both sides on Thursday morning in Warren County General District Court, including plaintiff Mark Egger’s motion for a continuance and defendant Stevi Hubbard’s motion for dismissal, Judge Christopher E. Collins overruled Hubbard’s motion for dismissal and set a new trial date for April 11, 2024, on the 9 a.m. docket. Three hours have been set aside for the trial.

Both Egger and Hubbard appeared without counsel at the December 4 hearing. However, after the rulings Hubbard told this reporter she was going to secure legal counsel for trial and would file a counter-claim based on defamation she alleges Egger has made against her. Judge Collins noted that he had moved this case from Small Claims Court to General District due to the aspect of defamation of character in Egger’s claim against Hubbard and her daughter Cameron.

Egger has filed a $5,000 civil claim for damages against Stevi and Cameron Hubbard for circulating a doctored picture of him during the Clean-up Samuels Library (CSL) led attempt to dictate library content and take operational control of the community’s public library away from the 501 C-3 non-profit library’s board of directors. Stevi Hubbard told the court Thursday that Egger was an involved figure in the creation of CSL, who made public appearances on its behalf. She and her daughter were heavily involved in the Save Samuels effort to counter the CSL initiative on library content they saw as an attack on LGBTQ alternate sexual identity lifestyles. During a September 6 hearing Stevi Hubbard told the court of her and Egger’s conflicting public histories: “We’re often the two loudest voices on each side.”

Mark Egger and Stevi Hubbard squared off at this WC Board of Supervisors meeting where eventually the tide of public comment opinions began shifting to support of the library and its operations. Hubbard’s daughter Cameron is viewing with camcorder held up from second row seat just to speakers’ left. Royal Examiner File Photos Roger Bianchini

At issue in Egger’s civil suit and claim of defamation of character is a photo of Egger taken at a Samuels Library Board of Trustees meeting placed on the windshields of some cars parked in meeting places regarding the library content dispute earlier this year, where a white robe and hood were superimposed on him. Egger apparently took the photo as a reference to the KKK, asserting a negative impact on his reputation in the community. However, Hubbard has said that rather than a KKK reference, the doctored photo is of costumes worn publicly by Catholics, particularly in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, during an Easter season acknowledgment of and repentance for one’s sins. Egger, like many in the CSL movement, is a self-identified Catholic with background connections to Christendom College and/or St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal.

Photo provided by Stevi Hubbard of the referenced hooded (Capirote) uniforms once more commonly donned by European Catholics, particularly in Spanish areas, as part of an Easter season repentance ritual dating back as far as the Inquisition era.

Stevi Hubbard told the court in making her argument for dismissal based on the contention that Egger’s long history — she referenced 1989 as a starting point — of public stances on various social or political issues before local government and in media reports about those issues, made him a public figure more susceptible legally to being criticized or made sport of for his public stances. However if we heard correctly, Judge Collins referenced a Supreme Court decision that ruled the chairman of a political party committee was not a public figure “because he did not have his own news network” in denying Hubbard’s dismissal motion. The judge explained the high court’s ruling as an effort “to not chill free speech”.

Stevi Hubbard also argued that Egger’s Bill of Particulars was too vague in explaining what damage had been done, and how, to his reputation to adequately inform her on what grounds to prepare a defense to his defamation allegation. However, after an extensive back and forth with both parties on the issue of damages Judge Collins cited Hubbard’s familiarity with the doctored “flyer” photo and its content to meet the necessary standard at trial as to the source of the claim and the plaintiff’s rationale in claiming damages.

Despite having to go to trial on alleged damages of $5,000 suffered by Mark Egger from circulation of a doctored photo of him during the recent library content and funding debate, Stevi and Cameron Hubbard were all smiles for the camera after Tuesday’s hearing was adjourned. They and Egger will return to court for trial on April 11, likely with their trial day ‘game faces’ on.

In a postscript to the library controversy, the involved Warren County Board of Supervisors eventually fully funded its public library for the current fiscal year, and signed a Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA) in which the library board of trustees maintains operational control of the library. The county supervisors do have appointment authority for a representative to that board, and may make suggestions on the filling of vacancies. In the wake of the myriad CSL-overseen book removal requests filed, library staff continue to review those requests. The library has moved some material that references alternate sexual identity issues into existing older youth age categories and has created one new “Young Adult” section where some of the content in question has been moved. A new youth library card by which parents can limit the type of content their children may check out or access has also been issued.