Jury finds union defamed SR drywall contractor

A jury Friday found a North Bay carpenters union defamed a Santa Rosa drywall contractor, awarding $100,000 in damages that could go higher during a punitive trial phase set for next week.

In a long-running dispute over wages and benefits, contractor Roger Hughes accused Carpenters Local 751 of Santa Rosa and union leaders of defamation and invasion of privacy for a flier alleging indecent exposure.

The jury of seven men and five women agreed and also found that it was done maliciously and with conscious disregard for the truth, said Charles Cochran, Hughes' attorney.

In addition to awarding $100,000 in actual damages for emotional distress, the jury will consider awarding punitive damages and Cochran said he will seek several million dollars. The punitive phase is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

"Roger Hughes was defamed and had his privacy infringed upon. It's one thing for this union to go out and picket and leaflet his sites. That's fair, that's lawful," Cochran said. "But it's quite another thing to put out there that he's a pedophile and a danger to children. That's wrong."

Sandra Benson, the union's attorney, had contended during the trial that the allegations were true that Hughes exposed himself during a March 2002 demonstration and that Hughes gave up any right to privacy by his public behavior.

Neither Benson nor union officials returned phone calls after Friday's verdict.

The dispute between the carpenters union and Hughes goes back almost four years, marked by picketing at his offices and job sites.

Union pickets sometimes depicted Hughes and another drywall contractor as rats for not paying union wages and benefits. The union contended the contractors pay wages and benefits that are below standards in the area.

The battle entered court after an confrontation during a March 2002 picket outside Hughes' Cleveland Avenue office.

During picketing, union member Aaron Hadzess said Hughes made lewd comments, unzipped his pants and rubbed his penis on a union jacket.

Hughes said he pretended to urinate on the jacket but never exposed himself.

Hadzess filed a report with Santa Rosa police alleging indecent exposure.

A few weeks later, the union distributed a flier showing the police report on one side and on the other side a statement questioning why a builder allowed Hughes "to work near your children."

The flier did not identify the union as its source.

The police report said, "Do not duplicate." Police also had blacked out Hughes' name before they released the report. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office never filed charges against Hughes.

Hughes sued Hadzess and another member of Local 751, Joe Hart. Also named was Mike Munoz, an official with the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council in Oakland. Hughes also sued Local 751 and the regional council.