Jury says lawmaker defamed opponent

A jury late Friday handed down a verdict and $50,000 in damages in favor of Danny Tarkanian in his long-running legal feud against State Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas.

At about 10:30 p.m., and after deliberating for more than three hours, the jury found Tarkanian's claims were justified, according to Tarkanian and his attorney, Gus Flangas.

"It was very gratifying -- very nerve-racking, but very gratifying," Tarkanian said Saturday.

The lawsuit stemmed from a vicious 2004 state Senate campaign between the two men. After losing the race, Tarkanian sued Schneider, claiming that he was defamed and libeled during the campaign.

Tarkanian, who was running as a Republican in a heavily Democratic district, was accused of acting as a resident agent for several companies that later were investigated for illegal telemarketing scams that victimized the elderly.

Schneider also suggested that Tarkanian turned "state's evidence" to save himself in a criminal investigation.

Flangas said Saturday that he asked the jury for $30,000 in damages over comments Schneider made about Tarkanian on the "Face to Face" show with journalist Jon Ralston, $10,000 for fliers mailed out by Schneider's campaign and $10,000 for comments Schneider made about the status of Tarkanian's law license.

The jury awarded all of that, plus determined that the case was eligible for punitive damages. Flangas said Tarkanian could be awarded up to $300,000 during the punitive phase of the trial, which starts Monday.

Schneider released a statement Saturday saying he was "shocked and saddened" by the verdict.

The statement continued: "I entered public service to serve the people of Nevada and have always upheld the law. My family and I are spending time together. I respect Nevada's judiciary system and am hopeful for a positive resolution of this matter."

Tarkanian said the amount of the award was not as important as having the facts cleared up.

"I was going to settle the case for a lot, lot less if Mike had acknowledged that at the time he made the statements he thought they were true but he learned later that they were false," Tarkanian said.

Schneider would not agree to that, Tarkanian said.

Tarkanian was a registered agent for several telemarketing companies that were indicted on fraud charges, but he said in later interviews that he was merely an attorney who did legal work on behalf of the companies and knew nothing of the fraud.

The same claims came up in a 2006 campaign for secretary of state, which he lost to Democrat Ross Miller. Tarkanian said he wanted to sue the first person who made the claims. He said he can't sue Miller anyway because the statute of limitations has expired.

Tarkanian, the son of legendary former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian and Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, said he is considering running for office again.

He wouldn't say for what but felt he wouldn't be able to win had the claims against him not been cleared up.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.