Lawsuit could cost James his reputation as much as money

When Mark James was a state senator and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1997, he sought unsuccessfully to restrict advertising of escort services, which he described as nothing more than "advertisements for illegal prostitution."

He said the bill was designed to protect children like his, then 10 and 8, from sick ads in the telephone book.

"Maybe it is not sick if it is just for adults, and you want to go off somewhere and have an adult time,'' James said, describing himself as "a civil libertarian when it comes to what adults do."

Based on James' telephone records between October 2006 through August 2009, the former state senator and Clark County commissioner was "communicating with prostitutes nearly daily," attorney James Pisanelli said in court Thursday.

The telephone calls emerged in a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by James' one-time friend Stephen Kalish, as explained in my Saturday column. Kalish thinks James owes him millions of dollars because he was actually running Frias Holding Co., a cab and limousine company, while James, the titular Frias CEO, was engaged in calling and texting escorts.

Kalish attorneys Pisanelli and Todd Bice contend the information is relevant because it shows "the extent of James' personal vices that led Kalish to serve as the de facto CEO" of Frias Holding.

They said the information is needed to both prove Kalish's case and defend against a defamation case filed by James.

Kalish's attorneys alleged James was frequenting massage parlors during work hours and disappearing for extended periods of time.

James is accused of being absent from Frias for 51 business days during a 20-month period, and Team Kalish argued the phone records "shed considerable light on the reasons for James' absences."

James has countersued Kalish for defamation.

Attorney Dennis Kennedy, representing James, issued a statement saying Kalish's attorneys were trying to divert attention from their demand for more money with allegations about James that had nothing to do with the issues and could potentially harm James' reputation.

District Court Judge Mark Denton will have to rule later whether the phone records can be presented to a jury during trial. But at the end of Thursday's hearing, he ordered materials on two pages of a motion redacted. However, the judge didn't seal the documents as James' attorneys, Kennedy and John Bailey, wanted.

Materials concerning James' health issues had been redacted previously. Team James originally sought to seal the entire civil case.

Extracting from James' phone records, the names and contact information of 42 escorts, their prices and their services are part of the court's public records. Services, including sadomasochism and massages, were advertised for prices ranging from a low of $150 an hour to a high of $15,000 for one woman.

The women listed addresses not only in Las Vegas, but out of state, including Oregon, California, Utah and Washington.

Lawyers for Kalish said the 42 women are trial witnesses expected to testify about their "communications, appointments and interactions" with James during the three-year-period involved.

The records do not extend to any period when James was an elected official, either in the Senate or on the County Commission.

Before this, James' reputation was solid. He was in the FBI Citizens' Academy's first class and became president of the group's alumni association. His 50th birthday party at the Hard Rock drew hundreds of people and featured a heartwarming video of him and his family showing what appeared to be the All-American family.

Telephone records of alleged calls to escort services shatter that previously pristine reputation. Has he been defamed? Not if it's true.

Is it relevant? Judge Denton must make that call.

No matter the outcome, James' reputation will never be the same -- civil libertarian or libertine?

When millions are at stake, friendship is forgotten.

Remember that on Valentine's Day.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 702- 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.