MONTICELLO –  Luis Alvarez can sleep soundly now.

Following a three-day jury trial last week at the Lawrence H. Cooke Sullivan County Courthouse, Alvarez has won his case against fellow Legislator Rob Doherty in which Alvarez claimed Defamation of Character and Doherty’s allegations that his claims against Alvarez were founded.

The verdict was handed down at 5 p.m. Thursday and Alvarez said he almost immediately began receiving calls of congratulations from friends on both sides of the political aisle.

“I didn’t sleep for nearly three days,” Alvarez said, noting the strain the case put on him. “But as soon as the verdict was reached, I felt relieved.”

A six-member jury unanimously decided that Sullivan County Legislature Chair Doherty had defamed his predecessor, County Legislator Luis Alvarez, when he publicly claimed that Mr. Alvarez had called a female county commissioner a profanity and when he further claimed that this allegation was “founded.”  

The jury, which was comprised of four women and two men, returned its verdict after about two hours of deliberation following the three-day trial during which ten witnesses testified.

Sullivan County Republican Party Committee Chair Greg Goldstein said, “As an organization that takes pride in emulating integrity, honor and mutual respect, the Sullivan County Republican Party is disappointed in the defamatory actions taken by [Republican] Chairman Doherty towards his colleague, Mr. Alvarez.

“In no uncertain terms do we tolerate or support actions such as these, nor should anyone else,” Goldstein said.

Many public officials echoed Goldstein’s remarks.

Legislator Nadia Rajsz, who testified at the trial on the last day, said,  I’m glad it’s over and happy that Luis was vindicated. People in elected positions should not be demeaning or harassing, which has been Doherty’s M.O. from the beginning. 

“It’s been four years of harassing behavior and throwing us under the bus. That’s not how business is done. A jury of his peers made this decision based on evidence. It’s been a long time coming. Now hopefully, we can move forward and get some actual work done,” Rajsz said.

Rajsz was the trial’s last witness and testified that she had worked closely with Mr. Alvarez in the legislature, had never heard him speak in this manner and found him honest. 

County Legislator Ira Steingart, who was often at the center of Doherty’s attacks, said, “I’m not surprised [by the verdict]. I’m glad that Luis’ name was cleared. It was kind of an unfortunate circumstance for this situation to happen in the first place.”

Mr. Alvarez initiated his lawsuit in the spring 2021, claiming that Mr. Doherty acted with actual malice and recklessly made these allegations knowing they were false.  

The jury agreed.  

Mr. Alvarez testified at trial that he never called the Commissioner any profanity, and that Mr. Doherty issued a press release on January 22, 2021 making this claim, after behaving dismissively and hostilely toward him during their first year together in the County Legislature and never discussing this matter with him. 

Response from Doherty

“While I vehemently disagree with the decision in this case, I accept the jury’s verdict as that is how our judicial system works,” Doherty said.

“I continue to stand by my actions and remain proud of my defese of a female county employee, who, by her own testimony, was wrongly attacked and insulted by another County Legislator” he said. “This decision in no way alters the unanimous determination of the County Board of Ethics which previously found that Mr. Alvarez had been verbally abusive toward the employee in question.”

According to a press release issued by Alvarez’s attorney, Michael Sussman, Doherty’s testimony was marked by numerous contradictions, changing accounts of events and answers inconsistent with those he provided at his deposition eight months ago and with that of other witnesses. 

Alvarez has his day

In his testimony, Alvarez told the jury that clearing his name and restoring his reputation motivated his lawsuit, not money.  

He specifically explained that he was not suing for money.  

The jury awarded neither compensatory nor punitive damages to Alvarez, who commented, “All the money in this world is not as meaningful as a jury of our peers finding that Mr. Doherty defamed me in two ways.  

“He recklessly accused me of a despicable act, damaging my well-earned reputation. He then had the gall to claim that this baseless allegation was “founded” when he knew full well that my accuser had failed to ever even raise any such claim when speaking about my conduct to either the Director of Human Resources or the County Ethics Board,” Alvarez said. “The claim was never founded by anyone.  I feel vindicated and appreciate the hard work of this jury and of presiding Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant.”  

Postscript

Both Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Doherty are both seeking re-election as legislators this November.  

Mr. Alvarez remarked, “We cannot continue to elect leaders who have a profound disregard for the truth and a disrespect for the processes our County has established to investigate serious claims of harassment and discrimination. 

“If Mr. Doherty truly believed that I engaged in this despicable behavior, he should have respected the privacy of the woman who came forward and referred her to the proper authorities in our county for a proper investigation,” Alvarez said.

“Instead, he wanted to embarrass me and politically assassinate me, issued a scurrilous press release and then engaged in Facebook posts which compounded the damage,” Alvarez said. “But he has failed, and I look forward to continuing my service to Sullivan County and its residents.”  

Mr. Alvarez retired in 2015 from the Sheriff’s Department where he honorably served for thirty years.

Alex Kielar contributed to this report.