Stevi Hubbard, Mark Egger Debate Public Roles as Egger’s $5,000 Defamation Suit Heads to Trial

The $5,000 defamation of character civil suit brought by local Catholic activist Mark Egger against Stevi Hubbard, a self-described activist in her own right, was before Judge Christopher E. Collins in Warren County General District Court on Wednesday morning, September 6. After some discussion of proceeding with the trial yesterday, Hubbard asked if it could proceed, while Egger said he needed time to contact five witnesses to appear in support of his case. A trial date of Thursday, December 14, was set. Three hours were set aside for the civil hearing.

The relative social and/or political issues Hubbard and Egger have addressed publicly became an issue during Wednesday’s hearing. Hubbard addressed the court about her perception of the case brought against her by Egger regarding a photo of him taken at a recent Samuels Library Board of Trustees meeting she also attended that was altered to show him in a white hooded robe and subsequently circulated on car windshields in a meeting site parking lot.

Hubbard, present with her teenage daughter, who is also named in the civil action, told Judge Collins she believed Egger’s filing was “a frivolous lawsuit” because she and her daughter were protected by the 1st and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution regarding public statements involving public figures. Asked by the judge if she was an elected official, Hubbard said no but then explained her role in various socio-political issues in recent years, citing 2016 as a starting point. She told the court that Egger has been in a similar social activism role, though generally on opposing sides to hers. Hubbard noted her and Egger’s most recent conflicting public opinions regarding funding and content at Samuels Public Library. That reference appeared to get an expression of recognition from the judge.

“We’re often the two loudest voices on each side,” Hubbard told the court of her and Egger’s public history, adding that her daughter had been drug into the civil action by her own public activism on the library content and funding issue. Hubbard added that both her and Egger’s roles in public issues have often been reported in local media.

A somewhat emotional Stevi Hubbard at a recent public appearance before the WC Board of Supervisors on the current public library content and funding debate. Below is Mark Egger at that same meeting. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

However, Egger disagreed with Hubbard’s take on, at least, his role in public activity. “I’m not a public figure, I’m a piano teacher,” Egger told the court. Judge Collins responded that with the trial not proceeding at this initial hearing, he would not be ruling on when someone’s actions on public issues make them a public figure. That will likely not come until the bulk of the three hours set aside for December 14th is used up.

With three months to prepare for trial, Hubbard inquired of the court about the possibility of acquiring legal representation. Egger then questioned whether it was legally permitted for a party to a civil action like his against Stevi Hubbard and her daughter to have an attorney to represent them. Judge Collins replied that there was nothing in the law or the legal precedents of the nation that prevented someone from acquiring legal counsel for a case involving a potential warrant in debt, or it would seem any other type of civil or criminal case.

After setting the December 14 trial date, Judge Collins set October 5 for Egger’s filing of a Bill of Particulars regarding his case, with a response from the Hubbards on the grounds of their defense by November 16.

While I couldn’t find a Royal Examiner file photo of Mark Egger teaching piano, I did find several, including this one, of him speaking at several public meetings in 2019.