by Kevin Cody
Former Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO Jessica Accamando and her spouse, Ashley Tull, have been ordered by the Los Angeles County Superior Court to pay attorneys’ fees to Hermosa Beach residents Kent Allen and Matt McCool, against whom Accamando and Tull filed a libel suit last May.
Allen’s attorney, Harry Safarian, is to receive $20,000. McCool’s attorney is to receive $10,000.
Allen is a retired construction engineer, and former three term member of the Hermosa Planning Commission. He had been publicly critical of Accamando since she was named Chamber CEO in February 2021.
McCool is a business consultant, and former Hermosa Beach Emergency Preparedness Commissoner. He had also been critical of Accamando’s financial management of the Chamber since running for council, unsuccessfully, in 2022.
Accamando resigned from the Chamber days before filing the lawsuit against Allen and McCool. At the time, she posted on her Facebook page, “…these individuals do not choose civil discourse. And have often taken to spewing hatred — most notably anti-LGBTQIA comments….”
“Why are we telling the public this? Because we want the community of Hermosa to know that this hatred exists within our borders and is felt most often by those of us in minority communities…. for any woman or queer person who wants to get involved in Hermosa, we want to be sure that we as a community band together to protect the people who care for and invest so much in this community.”
As evidence of the libel, the lawsuit cited Advocates for Hermosa Facebook posts dating back to September 2021. Allen and McCool were administrators of the page.
An Advocates post by “Notch Johnson,” a pseudonym, stated “A real Chamber of Commerce would be a good start, instead of some blue-haired lady that takes orders from the City Manager….. Maybe next year we can upgrade to putting a special needs chimp in charge of Fiesta?”
The libel suit also recounts a statement by McCool at the October 11, 2022 Hermosa Council meeting, that, “ … the Chamber of Commerce is embezzling money. I will put out the details on Advocates for Hermosa Facebook … tomorrow morning.”
McCool did not post details of embezzlement the next morning, and subsequently softened his accusation of embezzlement to “financial impropriety.’”
The Accamando/Tull lawsuit also stated, “In or about April, 2024 ‘Notch Johnson’ posted: “Ok, so maybe Chamber leadership is corrupt, incompetent, and embezzles our money and wouldn’t exist without DEI [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion]. But let’s not be Debbie Downers and look at their achievements: they canceled NYE, canceled Labor Day Fiesta, paid off one of their own $1,900 to ‘volunteer,’ painted [lifeguard] Tower 13 gay/tranny, and brought us transvestites reading to kids for Pride month. So much public service! Are they the Chamber for Hermosa or for Hermosa LGBTQ^&*+!?”
The libel suit argued, “Plaintiffs did not embezzle funds from the Chamber, did not commit any financial improprieties…. The posts are libelous on its face.”
Accamando and Tull dropped their libel suit in July, two months after filing it.
Allen’s attorney, Safarian, contended in his motion for attorney’s fees, “The dismissal was designed to circumvent the mandatory attorneys’ fees Mr. Allen is entitled to under… the AntiSLAPP statute.”
Safarian further argued, “This ‘defamation’ case is a classic ‘SLAPP’ suit, targeting the Constitutional exercise of free speech concerning public matters…. The acts complained of are paradigm protected ‘communications’ that fit within the protections of the anti-SLAPP statute the way a hand fits a perfectly tailored glove.”
A SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation ), according to the Cornell University Legal Information Institute, “refers to lawsuits brought by individuals and entities to dissuade their critics from continuing to produce negative publicity. By definition, SLAPP suits do not have any true legal claims against the critics…. In egregious SLAPP cases, an Anti-SLAPP statute may even require the plaintiff to pay legal fees of the defendant.”
Attorney Ken White, who is now representing Accammando and Tull, said he advised the two not to comment on the case because of the potential for future litigation.
Allen, in response to a request for comment about the legal fees, said in an e-mail, “While I was always careful to differentiate between hearsay and fact in my public comments, Accamando sought to conflate the two, accusing me of defamation for raising concerns about her management of the Chamber of Commerce…. Her actions only reinforced my belief that my criticisms about financial improprieties and favoritism within the Chamber under her leadership were valid and necessary.
“What I find equally disturbing is the Chamber of Commerce board’s decision to allocate $10,000 to support her legal fees. Considering the City of Hermosa Beach provides financial support to the Chamber through event fee waivers, it’s not a stretch to say that taxpayer dollars indirectly contributed to her failed lawsuit. Additionally, Accamando solicited personal donations through a GoFundMe campaign, portraying herself and her wife, Ashley, as victims of anti-LGBTQ bigotry. This misrepresentation was not only false but deeply harmful to my reputation.”
Hermosa Chamber Chairman Dave Davis said last May the Chamber was not involved in Accamando’s and Tull’s libel suit, and that the $10,000 the chamber contributed to the couple was to obtain a restraining order against McCool and Allen.
“The chamber has an obligation to protect its employees. We support them in taking the steps they deem necessary to halt years of ongoing harassment, derogatory slurs and libel,” Davis said.
McCool said by e-mail this week, he hoped the success of the AntiSLAPP suit would clear his name of “the hate crime hoax and false allegations of homophobia.” ER
