Judge sanctions Pomona in rabbinical college fight

POMONA A federal judge has issued sanctions against the village over a deleted Facebook post officials were required to keep during its long-running civil lawsuit with a rabbinical college.

Pomona has been fighting in federal court with the Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov since 2007, when the religious organization sued the village over its land-use regulations. The congregation is seeking to build and operate a rabbinical college on a 130-acre site at the intersection of Routes 202 and 306.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas issued the sanctions on Sept. 29. In his 145-page opinion, Karas called it the "rare case where bad faith and a clear intent to deprive Plaintiffs of the evidence... is sufficiently clear."

On May 10, 2013, then-Trustee Rita Louie posted comments on Facebook noting her disapproval of an all-male gathering of Hasidim and Ultra-Orthodox Jews at Provident Park, although Louie didn't directly reference the men's religion. Mayor Brett Yagel sent Louie an angry text message saying he did not want not want Tartikov's lawyers to see it. Louie then deleted her post.

The exchange is included in court documents:

Yagel: Is it your position to cause damage to the village? Someone just sen[t] me a screenshot of your Facebook post! If it is your intent to jeopardize target... then you are succeeding and may cause us to loose! [sic] You should consider...

Louie: A little over the top but I understand your anger. All taken down and I reviewed all my accounts to make sure there are no other unfortunate mistakes. But no, I don't think I should consider resigning.

Yagel: I am so angry now that my heads [sic] about to pop. Their lawyers will use everything. Remember the case in NJ where the federal judge ruled that comments made by a public official in a non official [sic] setting led him to decide potential prejudice even though there was no final ruling but based on prior witness testimony. We have too much riding on this case for you to jeopardize it. Everything is fair game in the lawsuit. Judge Karas is watching this case... publicly commenting on an all male [sic] gathering when it's related to a religious entity, is not good!

Karas ruled that it was clear the Facebook post was relevant to the current case and should have been turned over to the congregation's legal team. When asked by lawyers, Yagel said he did not have a copy of the Facebook post and only a partial copy of text messages discussing the post.

"Because Defendants concealed — and failed to disclose — the relevant Facebook post and potentially a portion of the accompanying text messages, the jury will be instructed that it may infer that the contents of the Facebook Post indicated discriminatory animus towards the Hasidic Jewish population," Karas wrote.

The village will also have to pay the congregation's attorney fees and costs related to the sanction.

With a population of about 3,000, Pomona has spent at least $1.5 million in legal fees to fend off Tartikov's challenge. Those bills have required Pomona to pass double-digit tax hikes to help keep up with payments.

While the case appears headed for trial, no date has been set.

Both Yagel and Louie declined comment on the ruling.

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