BY JOHN NOLAN
The Associated Press
Michael Gallagher
|
Chiquita Brands International Inc. on Thursday sued a former reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer, claiming he stole confidential voice mail for a newspaper series that questioned the company's business practices.
Reporter Michael Gallagher was fired from his job at The Enquirer on June 26, two days before the newspaper renounced the series in a front-page apology to Chiquita, and announced it would pay the company a settlement worth more than $10 million. Chiquita had accused the paper of stealing the voice mails but had not sued.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati does not name the newspaper. It seeks unspecified damages from Mr. Gallagher, accusing him of defamation, trespass, conspiracy, fraud and violations of electronics communications privacy statutes.
It also seeks a court order preventing Mr. Gallagher from any similar conduct against Chiquita, and demands he return all proprietary materials and identify those to whom he gave the illegally obtained materials.
Chiquita's lawsuit alleges that Mr. Gallagher engaged in a systematic smear campaign, used past and present Chiquita employees to gain access to the voice mails and raided the password-protected boxes.
"The full extent of the defamation against Chiquita is expansive," the lawsuit said. "There has seldom, if ever, been a defendant in a libel case who has exhibited such acute and calculated malice toward his target."
Neither Mr. Gallagher nor his attorney returned messages Thursday seeking comment.
Investigations into whether any laws were broken in pursuit of the 18-page series have been under way for a month.
The FBI is investigating possible wrongdoing in connection with the series. The Cincinnati Post reported Thursday that agents are focusing on whether anyone violated wiretapping laws in obtaining Chiquita employees' voice-mail messages.
FBI spokeswoman Tracey Heinlein confirmed only that the FBI is investigating.
The Hamilton County sheriff has been investigating for about a month, and special prosecutor Perry L. Ancona was appointed to look into the matter June 1. He has been working with a grand jury, which heard testimony from at least one former Enquirer reporter this week.
The Post said the FBI is focusing on a federal wiretapping statute that outlaws intercepting private, electronic communications without a court order or permission from the parties involved. Because Ohio law is so similar, the FBI and sheriff's investigators are coordinating their efforts, The Post said.
Harry M. Whipple, president and publisher of The Enquirer, declined to comment.
Chiquita spokesman Joseph Hagin said the newspaper wired the cash stipulated in the settlement Wednesday.
Mr. Gallagher has been called to testify before the grand jury, but Tuesday asked a judge to throw out the subpoena.
The grounds for his request are not public; court records in the case were sealed Tuesday at Mr. Ancona's request.
Previous stories
Reporter fights subpoena July 1, 1998
Enquirer employees subpoenaed in probe June 30, 1998
Chiquita accepts apology, $10M from Enquirer June 29, 1998
An apology to Chiquita June 28, 1998
