MORE FRIVOLITY: Braunstein Sues County Executive Ed Day

County Executive Ed Day has become a seeming magnet for frivolous lawsuits in recent months. Failed purchaser of the Summit Park hospital in Pomona, Shalom Braunstein, has most recently joined the act.

Braunstein filed a defamation lawsuit against County Executive Ed Day on Oct. 11, claiming Day “repeatedly attacked” him after his company Sympaticare pulled out of a $32 million deal to take over the county owned Summit Park facility last year.

In court papers Braunstein claims the company had enough resource to close the deal but the county allegedly failed to take steps to facilitate the transfer. He claims Day attacked him for months and allegedly commented on a lohud article that Braunstein “screwed our citizens.”

Prior to Braunstein, Legislative Chairman Alden Wolfe filed a defamation lawsuit this summer claiming damages from a 2015 Day post on Facebook in which he described an internal memo as “forged.” Again Legislator Wolfe petitioned for the right to sue Day and others when he filed a notice of appeal of the county’s victory vs. the CSEA union in the Summit Park hospital case.  The judge already declared the issue moot, but Wolfe said he was still interested in hearing a judge’s ruling on the merits of the lawsuit and whether Day had the right to move to close the hospital.

The Braunstein lawsuit is against Day as an individual, not as county executive, meaning the county may not be responsible for defending him. Day will submit the text of the lawsuit to attorneys to determine whether the costs should be covered by the public treasury.

The lawsuit continues a long battle between the county and Braunstein as in March he sued the county to get his $5.9 million deposit back.

SHELLY BRAUNSTEIN:  If you hurt his feelings, he just might sue you