AZ Supreme Court To Hear Arguments In Business Owner’s Defamation Claim Against Sen. Wendy Rogers

AZ Supreme Court To Hear Arguments In Business Owner’s Defamation Claim Against Sen. Wendy Rogers

By Terri Jo Neff |

The Arizona Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday morning in a first of its kind case about whether a political candidate or campaign committee can be held liable under state law for defaming a third party or a private company while attacking a political opponent.

Pamela Young claims she and her company Models Plus International (doing business as The Young Agency) were defamed and presented in a false light by campaign ads approved by state Sen. Wendy Rogers in 2018. At the time, Rogers was running for U.S. House of Representatives against Steve Smith, a state senator who had worked for Young’s Christian-based modeling company and talent agency for about a decade.

Young alleges Rogers’ campaign utilized radio, telephone, and direct mail ads which gave the impression Young and her company were involved in or condoned sex trafficking of young children. One such ad called Smith “a slimy character whose modeling agency specializes in underage girls and advertises on websites linked to sex trafficking.”

Rogers’ campaign also alleged Smith advertised on the Model Mayhem website, which the campaign described as being “full of pornographic material, which has also been involved in human trafficking.”

Smith lost to Rogers in the 2018 Republican primary by less than seven points, but Rogers lost in the General Election.

Young sued for defamation and invasion of privacy. Rogers has continually argued her 2018 ads never “directly” tied Smith to The Young Agency and never directly linked the company to any illegal conduct.

But the ads did not set well with several prominent Republicans, including Congressman Andy Biggs who called Rogers’ effort “one of the most despicable ads in campaign history.”

In 2019, a Maricopa County judge denied a motion by Rogers and her husband to dismiss Young’s claims. However, the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed the lower court in December 2020, ruling Young had not presented sufficient evidence to move her lawsuit forward against the defendants.

Young filed a petition for review to the Arizona Supreme Court in January seeking for her lawsuit to be reinstated. Rogers’ husband Hal Kunnen and her official campaign committee are also named as defendants.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed an amicus curiae brief in the case in June after which the justices set oral arguments for Sept. 28. A decision against Rogers would reinstate Young’s case, which could have major ramifications in how election advertising is conducted in Arizona and protect the rights of employers whose employees run for public office.

Bill Montgomery, who in 2018 was Maricopa County’s elected county attorney, denounced Rogers’ ads as “the worst kind of politics.” Montgomery was later appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey to the Arizona Supreme Court. He has recused himself from hearing Rogers’ petition. In his place, Judge Philip Espinosa of the Arizona Court of Appeals will sit in on arguments.

The ads also did not set well with Kathleen Winn, who is a member of the Maricopa County Community College District board. She is also an expert on child sex trafficking in Arizona.

“If you happen to believe one of your opponents is exploiting children, trafficking minors, selling them on a website for sex producing a political attack ad is NOT your first course of business,” Winn said. “Contacting law enforcement to report the alleged crime is what you need to do.”

Rogers was elected to the state Senate for LD6 in November 2020.

Nikola Founder Awaits Decisions On Federal Fraud Charges And SEC Lawsuit

Nikola Founder Awaits Decisions On Federal Fraud Charges And SEC Lawsuit

By Terri Jo Neff |

Nikola Corp. founder and former chairman Trevor Milton is awaiting a decision in the next few weeks from a federal judge on whether fraud charges filed against Milton in July will be dismissed, or in the alternative, his trial held somewhere other than New York.

The company founded by Milton in 2014 has its corporate offices in Phoenix and its manufacturing plant in the town of Coolidge. Nikola has a combined workforce of nearly 650 focused on the development and production of electric-powered light duty and heavy duty trucks, but the number of jobs is expected to double in the next few years.

Milton, 39, is also expecting a decision in October about whether a parallel federal civil case filed against him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will be put on hold as requested by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Southern New York. The DOJ has expressed concern that having both cases running at the same time could prejudice the criminal prosecution.

In a statement released when Milton’s indictment was announced this summer, the company was looking forward.

“We remain committed to our previously announced milestones and timelines and are focused on delivering Nikola Tre battery-electric trucks later this year from the company’s manufacturing facilities,” according to the statement.

Milton resigned last year from all involvement with the company. The 49-page federal grand jury indictment was released by federal prosecutors just weeks after Nikola had a public stock offering which reportedly earned Milton hundreds of millions of dollars, if not even one billion, in stock value.

According to prosecutors, Milton is accused of telling myriad lies to investors, prospective investors, and the public from November 2019 and through September 2020 about Nikola’s research and development progress as well as sales contracts in an effort to increase the share price of the company he founded in 2014.

Milton pleaded not guilty to two counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud at his arraignment in New York. He is awaiting trial out of custody after posting a $100 million personal recognizance bond secured by real estate property in Morgan, Utah and in Coatsville, Utah.

Court records show Milton had to surrender any passports or travel visas, as well as any firearms as a condition of his pretrial release.

The securities fraud counts carry maximum penalties of 20 and 25 years in prison, respectively. The wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Anyone who believes they are a victim of Milton’s statements may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office via USANYS.NIKOLAVICTIMS@USDOJ.GOV

Fed Agencies Join To Offer Free Manufacturing Export Webinars

Fed Agencies Join To Offer Free Manufacturing Export Webinars

By Terri Jo Neff |

The Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is partnering with a number of agencies in October to provide a series of free webinars for U.S. manufacturing companies of all sizes looking to bolster their export revenues.

The Washington D.C.-based EXIM is the official export credit agency of the U.S. government which operates as a wholly owned federal government corporation to assist in financing and facilitating U.S. exports of goods and services. The webinar series it is sponsoring will provide information about federal resources and services for manufacturers.

“With more than 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside the United States, the focus will be on assisting U.S.-based companies tap into the global marketplace to expand their business and confidently export worldwide,” according to EXIM.

The month-long series of free webinars starts Oct. 7 with a focus on early-stage manufactures and the federal assistance available to them to support the idea phase, commercialization, and global growth process.

On Oct. 14, the webinar will feature financing and credit insurance options to help manufacturers who export to address their finance challenges.  That will be followed on Oct. 21 with a webinar on effective supply chain management for export manufacturers, with information on improving operations, reducing costs, and mitigating risk.

The final webinar of the free series will be Oct. 28 featuring Hispanic-owned manufacturers involved in exports. The webinar will be presented in Spanish and will include an overview of federal export promotion resources.

Other partners of the webinars are the U.S. Commercial Service, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Manufacturing Institute, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more information:  https://grow.exim.gov/manufacturing-month-2021

Ducey Taps Uffelman To Head Liquor Licenses And Control Weeks Before To-Go License Lottery

Ducey Taps Uffelman To Head Liquor Licenses And Control Weeks Before To-Go License Lottery

By Terri Jo Neff |

Gov. Doug Ducey announced Thursday that Tracy Uffelman is the new director of the state’s beleaguered Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, just weeks before the entry period opens for the Arizona Liquor License Lottery which will facilitate more to-go liquor services.

“I am delighted to appoint Tracy as director, and look forward to working with him to best serve our businesses and constituents,” said Ducey, who highlighted Uffelman’s more than 50 years of liquor industry experience dating back to 1969 when he started as a wine merchandiser.

Over the years, Uffelman has held a variety of positions ranging from sales to management. He is also well-versed in the political end of the business, having served as vice president of legislative and community relations for Alliance Beverage, a company he worked at for 23 years.

“Our team will work hard to foster economic growth, expand opportunities for businesses of all sizes and Arizonans, and protect public safety,” Uffelman said of DLLC in a press release.

Ducey’s announcement comes more than five months after former Director John Cocca and Deputy Director Michael Rosenberger resigned following an internal affairs review into the handling of a complaint against a DLLC detective’s conduct during an undercover investigation at a Scottsdale strip club last year.

An 815-page report of the matter was released in July, detailing how DLLC’s investigators got involved in public health issues such as whether adult-oriented businesses that held liquor licenses were violating COVID-19 protocols.

After Cocca and Rosenberger quietly resigned in April, Ducey appointed Col. Heston Silbert as DLLC’s interim director since April. Silbert, the head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, reported in June that DLLC is “significantly underfunded” for its mission and was experiencing several “administrative challenges.”

Uffelman Concerns about how Arizona’s liquor industry is being regulated and overseen does not end at just the department. It also reaches the State Liquor Board, which has authority to approve, deny, or revoke a liquor license.

Such decisions were determined at the Liquor Board’s June, August, and September meetings by three members, the only active members at that time despite the fact Arizona law calls for a seven-member board. A fourth member is now listed on the department’s website.

Board members are appointed by the Governor and then confirmed by the Senate, with each member serving a three-year term. State law also calls for five of the seven members to have no financial interest “directly or indirectly” in a business licensed to deal with spirituous liquors.

Currently only two of the four members -Chairman Troy Campbell and Member Janice Pernice- are listed as having no financial interest, while Vice Chair Lynn Shulman listed as a retailer and Member Matt Roemer is a wholesaler.

Attention must also be paid to the political affiliation of members as well as county of residence. Three of the four members listed on the website reside in Maricopa County, the limit under state law.

Preliminary NTSB Report Reveals Problems Shutting Off Ruptured Pipeline That Killed Two

Preliminary NTSB Report Reveals Problems Shutting Off Ruptured Pipeline That Killed Two

By Terri Jo Neff |

The fiery Aug. 15 explosion of a Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline which killed two members of Coolidge family and severely burned another ejected a 46-foot section of the pipeline and left a massive crater, according to a preliminary report issued Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The rupture of the 30-inch diameter transmission pipeline, known as Line 2000,  occurred around 5:30 a.m., sending the ejected pipeline nearly 130 feet away into a field. The subsequent fireball destroyed the home of Luiz and Rosalita Alvarez and was visible for miles, including Casa Grande.

Emergency responders found Luiz and the couple’s 14-year-old daughter Valeria deceased in the house. Rosalita was found nearby with multiple injuries.

According to the report, it took Kinder Morgan personnel one hour to locate and manually shut off the pipeline’s nearest downstream valve. The fire, however, was not extinguished until shortly after 8 a.m. when the nearest upstream valve was finally isolated, the report states.

The investigation to date found that Line 2000 was installed in 1985 to transport crude oil. It was converted for the transmission of natural gas around 2005 when operated by El Paso Natural Gas. Houston-based Kinder Morgan acquired the line in 2012.

The continuing investigation will focus on metallurgical analysis and testing of the ruptured pipeline as well as adjacent sections of pipe which were not damaged. In addition, investigators will look into causal factors and pipeline safety.

Assisting NTSB in this matter are Kinder Morgan, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Arizona Corporation Commission, the Pinal County Fire Investigation Taskforce, and the Coolidge Police Department.

The NTSB is an independent federal agency responsible for determining the probable cause for pipeline incidents, as well as civil aviation, railroad, highway, and marine accidents. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson has said a final report about the incident could take 12 to 24 months to complete.