Gates Wins Lawsuit

FORMER STUDENT ORDERED TO REMOVE STATEMENTS

BENTONVILLE — A circuit judge ordered a former nursing student at North-West Arkansas Community College to remove defamatory statements about a college official from her Internet blog.

Judge John Scott presided over a hearing Thursday afternoon in Steven Gates’ lawsuit against Francesca M. Cataldo.

Gates, senior vice president for learning and provost at the college, fi led the lawsuit against Cataldo in February 2013.

Gates’ lawsuit lists several examples of what he described as defamatory statements on nwacc corruption.blogspot.com. The lawsuit states on May 26, 2012, Cataldo posted Gates was “a bully” and had been fired from Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., for sexual harassment. The posting also claimed Gates had been unemployed for several years and questioned why someone with “his tainted history” was hired by the college, according to court documents.

The complaint also reflects an Aug. 7, 2012, post describing Gates as a “bully” and “the Don Corleone of this mob mentality.”

Cataldo accused Gates of cyber-stalking her in an Aug. 13, 2012, Internet post, according to court documents.

Rogers attorney Jim Lingle, representing Gates, told Scott the allegations weren’t true. Lingle said it’s the “undisputed” truth Gates never was fired from a previous job, but that allegation was put on the Internet.

“Those are clearly infl ammatory,” Lingle said of the statements.

Cataldo, representing herself, told Scott she was provided false information by another person and the allegations about Gates had been removed from the blog.

Cataldo described herself as the victim of what she termed an “academic mobbing.”

Cataldo filed a counterclaim against Gates resulting in the Arkansas Attorney General Off ce entering the case.

Colin Jorgensen with the Attorney General’s Office asked Scott to dismiss the counterclaim because Cataldo filed it after a time frame set by the court. Cataldo’s motion also failed to state what relief she wanted or could be provided by Gates, Jorgensen said.

Cataldo told Scott she wanted Gates to pay off $45,000 in student loans and to also pay for the loss of her home.

“I don’t have the legal background as these gentlemen do,” Cataldo said referring to Lingle and Jorgensen.

Scott told Cataldo she had the right to represent herself, but she still had to follow the court’s rules and procedures. Scott then dismissed Cataldo’s counterclaim.

A jury trial was set for March 24, but is no longer necessary because Gates didn’t want any monetary damages from Cataldo and her counterclaim was dismissed.

Lingle told Scott that Gates only wanted a fi nding the allegations against him were false and he wanted Cataldo to remove them from her blog. Gates didn’t attend Thursday’s hearing.

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