Charlotte Observer Logo

2000 lawsuit shadows Cooper | Charlotte Observer

×
  • E-edition
  • Customer Service
  • Advertise
  • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Election
    • Politics
    • Nation/World
    • Special Reports
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Corrections
    • Columnists
    • Retro Charlotte
    • Your Schools
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Sports
    • Carolina Panthers
    • Charlotte Hornets
    • That's Racin'
    • High Schools
    • College Sports
    • Charlotte Knights/MLB
    • Other Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Inside the Panthers
    • Inside the NBA
    • Prep Insiders
    • Scott Fowler
    • Tom Sorensen
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • RNC 2020
    • Business
    • Banking
    • Stocks Center
    • Top Workplaces
    • National Business
    • What's in Store
    • Development
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Living
    • Religion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Family
    • Home & Garden
    • CLT Style
    • Travel
    • Living Here Guide
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • I'll Bite
    • Kathleen Purvis
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Arts/Culture
    • Events
    • Movie News & Reviews
    • Restaurants
    • Music/Nightlife
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Rewards
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Kevin Siers
    • Letters
    • Submit an Op-ed
    • Submit a Letter
    • Viewpoint
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • O-Pinion
    • You Write The Caption
    • Taylor Batten
    • Peter St. Onge
  • Celebrations
  • Obituaries
  • TV Listings

  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Virtual Career Fair
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Place an ad
  • Mobile & Apps

  • MomsCharlotte
  • Carolina Bride Magazine
  • South Park Magazine

Local

2000 lawsuit shadows Cooper

By Mark Johnson - mjohnson@charlotteobserver.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 10, 2008 12:00 AM

No one need complain to N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper about how long it can take state courts to resolve a case. He's fighting a defamation lawsuit that won't go away.

Cooper, a Democrat, is running for a third term while defending himself against a lawsuit by his Republican opponent in 2000. The legal battle is over a campaign commercial that year, the first time Cooper ran to be the state's top lawyer. The case could set a national precedent over whether a candidate can successfully sue an opponent over a political ad.

Lawyers sparred in court Monday, but 7 1/2 years after the suit was filed, it's still not ready to go to trial.

“It really is not a distraction for him,” said Jim Phillips, a Greensboro lawyer leading Cooper's defense team. “He's spending his time doing the things that he ran on: fighting crime, protecting consumers.”

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Gene Boyce, one of the Raleigh lawyers suing Cooper, said Cooper's lawyers are responsible for much of the slowdown.

“They know how to drag a case out,” said Boyce, whose son, Dan, ran as a Republican against Cooper in 2000 and was the target of the campaign ad.

The Boyces' lawsuit says the commercial erroneously criticized Dan Boyce and his law firm for seeking a large fee in a class-action tax case against the state. Dan Boyce argues that he didn't work on that case; his father did. He worked on a companion case with his father. His current law firm also didn't exist when the tax case was filed. Boyce's name is not on the court filings in that case, but Cooper's lawyers contend that Boyce did not make a distinction between the tax cases in his campaign.

In Monday's arguments, Cooper's lawyers asked to have Wake County Superior Court Judge John Lewis recuse himself from the case. He was among hundreds of taxpayers who benefited from the 1990s lawsuit that was mentioned in Cooper's campaign ad and that has become the source of considerable dispute in the case.

Superior Court Judge Carl Fox heard the arguments and denied the request for Lewis to step aside.

Two lengthy appeals have contributed to the duration of the case. Boyce said it would have ended years ago if the plaintiffs weren't lawyers who can invest their own time and money.

No trial date has been set.

  Comments  

Videos

Rookie USA Kids Fashion Show features celebrities in Charlotte

Owners HQ shoe showcasing event at Mint wows fans

View More Video

Trending Stories

After multiple attempts, Charlotte council member Braxton Winston gets served

February 15, 2019 11:29 AM

The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was looking weak. Then some strong basketball saved it.

February 16, 2019 02:26 AM

That trendy CBD product in your smoothie? Adding it is illegal, NC officials say

February 15, 2019 11:56 AM

The NFL reaches a settlement with Colin Kaepernick. And EVERYONE is talking about it

February 16, 2019 08:00 AM

Driver fatally shoots stranger who jumped on car hood, broke window in Charlotte

February 16, 2019 07:00 PM

things to do

Read Next

Gunshot victim found in SUV that smashed into a parked car on a Charlotte road

Crime

Gunshot victim found in SUV that smashed into a parked car on a Charlotte road

By Joe Marusak

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 16, 2019 07:53 PM

A gunshot victim died at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the SUV he was found in hit a parked car, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LOCAL

Driver fatally shoots stranger who jumped on car hood, broke window in Charlotte

Crime

Driver fatally shoots stranger who jumped on car hood, broke window in Charlotte

February 16, 2019 07:00 PM
‘Please hurry:’ Police release emotional 911 audio from Rock Hill triple shooting

Crime

‘Please hurry:’ Police release emotional 911 audio from Rock Hill triple shooting

February 15, 2019 03:52 PM
The other big Duke-Carolina game: Will the Daily Tar Heel or The Chronicle prevail?

Local

The other big Duke-Carolina game: Will the Daily Tar Heel or The Chronicle prevail?

February 15, 2019 07:16 PM
How a 1984 sneaker deal for Michael Jordan evolved into a $3-billion empire

Local

How a 1984 sneaker deal for Michael Jordan evolved into a $3-billion empire

February 15, 2019 04:25 PM
Largest tribe in East called NC home for centuries. Feds say it’s not Indian enough.

Local

Largest tribe in East called NC home for centuries. Feds say it’s not Indian enough.

February 15, 2019 08:40 AM
Stanley, a rare white rhinoceros, has died at the NC Zoo at a ripe old age

Local

Stanley, a rare white rhinoceros, has died at the NC Zoo at a ripe old age

February 15, 2019 05:29 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Charlotte Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story