Taxpayers Fund Frivolous Litigation To Prevent Public From Referring To Joshi as “Mayor Jackass” Before Upcoming Primary Election
Edison, NJ (February 7, 2025) – The Township of Edison has filed a cross-motion for a protective order in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County, seeking to prevent the further dissemination of both the audiovisual recording and written transcript of Mayor Sam Joshi’s deposition, which was conducted on January 21, 2025.
The motion, filed by attorneys Christopher D. Zingaro and Zurab Maisuradze of Rainone Coughlin Minchello, LLC, argues that the public dissemination of Mayor Joshi’s testimony poses a risk of undue political pressure and potential manipulation, especially in light of an upcoming election primary.
Councilman Rich Brescher who has announced his candidacy for mayor questioned the use of tax payer funds to pursue frivolous litigation. “The attorney’s being worried about the optics “ahead of an upcoming election primary” is not township business, it’s political. It should be addressed by Mayor Joshi’s campaign attorney’s and paid for by his campaign. This is just like when he took four cops to Chicago at the taxpayer expense and payed back $20,000, it’s a misappropriation of municipal resources and a waste of taxpayer money. When democrats run government like this they get republicans elected.”
The Township’s motion highlights that the written transcript of the deposition has already been disseminated on social media platforms, leading to the Mayor being subjected to harassment and mischaracterization of his statements. The filing describes the social media posts as “harassing” and attempting to “malign the Mayor as ‘Mayor Jackass’,” characterizing them as “character assassination.” Specific examples cited in the filing include one post stating “‘Scooby would say, rut-row!'” and another calling the Mayor a “man-child… drunk on power,” followed by a request to take his powers away. The motion argues that this dissemination contravenes the spirit of the Court’s initial order, which aimed to protect the Mayor from undue influence during the litigation.
“The Mayor’s testimony is now being spliced and diced, and marshaled by opponents ahead of an upcoming election primary,” the motion states. “This is a clear attempt to malign the Mayor’s character.”
The Township is seeking a protective order that would:
- Bar any further distribution of the audiovisual recording and written transcript of the deposition.
- Require any use of the audiovisual recording in litigation to be submitted under seal.
- Order the removal and sealing of the deposition transcript from the eCourt docket.
- Mandate the removal and deletion of any copies of the transcript that have been disseminated on social media platforms
The motion emphasizes that a protective order would not prejudice the Plaintiff’s ability to utilize the deposition materials in the litigation, but would simply prevent their dissemination for purposes unrelated to the case.
“The enclosed Protective Order guarantees that the Township can litigate this case to its finality and prove wrong the meritless claims brought by Plaintiff while also permitting Plaintiff’s full use of the audiovisual recording and transcript in motion practice and litigation without any prejudice to its interest in litigation,” the motion concludes.
The Township’s cross-motion for a protective order is scheduled to be heard on February 14, 2025. Mayor Joshi and Chief of Staff Bob Diehl did not respond to request for comment.
