A Georgia doctor sued by a Fort Worth optometrist says the terms of the settlement were different than what got described to us. And he says the original demand for libel damages from a chat-room posting — stated in a letter from a lawyer who's also a legislative honcho — was for $1 million.
Tom Annunziato sued Dr. Richard Schulze Jr. and two others for libel for comments they posted on a private Internet chat room after seeing a picture of Annunziato — who's not a medical doctor — in surgical garb (see our original story on the lawsuits).
The first filings in those suits — Annunziato's lawyer was Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford — asked for $75,000 in damages from each doctor. And both Annunziato and King told us the doctors settled the suits by paying King's fees and apologizing for their remarks. Schulze says in a letter to us that the initial demands were higher than that, the settlements lower. He also raises some questions about where the case was tried (though his lawyer said in our earlier story that the judge they got was fair).
Schulze's letter:
I read with interest the recent article describing the controversy regarding Mr. Annunziato's place of residence when filing a lawsuit against three physicians. As one of the physicians who was sued, I would like to correct the record with regard to certain statements made by Mr. Annunziato and his plaintiff's attorney, Phil King, Esq.
Mr. Annunziato's original demand from me was for one million dollars (yes, $1,000,000.00). I was told by my attorneys that such a large demand would have required that the suit be heard by a federal court. The demand was subsequently reduced to $75 thousand dollars in order to make the suit eligible for local jurisdiction. Therefore, the issue of residence and jurisdiction was indeed important to the case.
I did not write a letter of apology to the plaintiff, nor was I required to be the court. I did not pay any settlement damages to the plaintiff, nor was I required to by the court. I did not pay any of Mr. Annunziato's legal fees, nor was I required to by the court.
In fact, the judge presiding in the matter dismissed Mr. Annunziato's lawsuit as a "non-suit."
I was advised by my attorneys to file a countersuit against Mr. Annunziato and Mr. King for frivolous litigation, but I have better things to do with my time. Your readers can judge for themselves by the amount of damages I paid (zero, zilch, nada) how damaging my comments were to Mr. Annunziato.
Sincerely,
Richard Schulze Jr., M.D.
Here's a copy of King's original demand letter, followed by the last filing in the court case (both supplied by Schulze):
