A trio of Republican elected officials must pay $75,000 in sanctions after losing their defamation case against a former Democratic state lawmaker, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.The unanimous opinion from the three-judge panel upheld the decision of a lower court judge that U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, state Sen. Anthony Kern and former lawmaker Mark Finchem are on the hook for $75,000 in attorney fees.The trio’s lawsuit was frivolous and not justified, Yuma County Superior Court Judge Levi Gunderson ruled in April 2022. That triggered the award of attorney fees as a form of sanction.Finchem and Kern, at the time both state House representatives, in 2021 sued then-House Democratic Leader Charlene Fernandez because she shared a letter asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the two for their participation in the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol that turned violent.The letter also asked for an investigation into the role of Gosar and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs for their roles in encouraging the protest and possibly helping to plan it.Although every other Democrat at the state Legislature signed the letter, Finchem and Kern singled out Fernandez, saying she had shown particular animus toward them. Gosar later signed on to the lawsuit; Biggs did not.The appeals court ruling, issued Tuesday, upheld the sanctions since the defamation suit was groundless and based in bad faith.Attorney David Bodney, who represented Fernandez, applauded the ruling.“This decision sends the important message that groundless cases, and claims pursued in bad faith, have no place in our judicial system,” Bodney wrote in a statement.Beyond providing justice for Fernandez, the ruling affirms the right of all citizens to share serious concerns about public safety with federal officials, Bodney said.There was no immediate response for attorneys representing the lawmakers.Bodney, an attorney with Ballard Spahr, frequently has served as The Republic’s counsel in media law matters. He noted the sanctions will grow beyond the $75,000 from the lower court case. The appeals court has al …
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