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Oct. 12, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CLARIFICATION ON 10/13/07 -- A paraphrasing of a statement by columnist John L. Smith in a Friday news story may have left an inaccurate impression. The story said Smith believed bankruptcy would stay a libel lawsuit long enough to prepare and perhaps pay for a defense. Smith believes he has strong and meritorious defenses and will ultimately prevail at trial. However, with the recent bankruptcy filing by publisher Barricade Books, Smith is simply unable to cure substantial arrears owed to his attorneys, or pay his attorneys for the substantial fees that will be incurred at trial. Accordingly, Smith had no choice but to file for bankruptcy relief with the objective of discharging Sheldon Adelson's libel claims in Nevada Bankruptcy Court and avoiding the costs and fees associated with going to trial in Los Angeles.

Columnist pursues bankruptcy protection

By A.D. HOPKINS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

John L. Smith, the Review-Journal's most widely read columnist, has filed for bankruptcy after a two-year legal battle with Sheldon Adelson, owner of The Venetian resort.

Adelson is suing Smith and his book publisher, Barricade Books, and alleging libel based upon Smith's 2005 book "Sharks in the Desert: The Founding Fathers and Current Kings of Las Vegas." The Review-Journal was not named in the lawsuit.


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    • "My family managed to survive childhood cancer and all the medical bills that go with it," said Smith, 47. "But how do you fade the sixth-richest man in the world?"

    Smith took the step Wednesday after negotiations broke down for a settlement agreement.

    "We had every reason to believe this case was going to settlement and were led along with false promises," Smith said. "When it became obvious they didn't intend to settle, we were caught unprepared to go to trial." The bankruptcy will stay the libel lawsuit long enough to prepare and perhaps pay for a defense, Smith said.

    The trial was scheduled to start Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Martin Singer, the lawyer representing Adelson, said the case has been continued to Feb. 4 because of the bankruptcy petition.

    Smith's initial petition said he has assets of $425,400 and liabilities of $15,644,671, including a $15 million potential judgment against him by Adelson.

    When the Review-Journal tried to reach Adelson for comment, he released a statement through Singer on Thursday: "We engaged in settlement negotiations with Mr. Smith in good faith. At the start of the negotiations we asked for $1 and an apology. Separate and apart from that we offered to establish a $200,000 medical fund for Mr. Smith's daughter, whose condition Mr. Adelson learned about during the case. Mr. Smith turned down the trust and would not pay the dollar. It is incredible that in filing for bankruptcy Mr. Smith valued this case at $15 million. Obviously he knows something about his own conduct that we don't and was worried that it would come out at trial. This is especially true as we are unaware of any libel judgment for non-economic damages in the history of Anglo-American jurisprudence which is even close to that amount."

    Smith retorted: "There was never a suggestion by them that all I had to do was pay $1. Mr. Adelson wanted to enter a judgment against me, which would have been the same thing as a decision that I had committed constitutional malice. This was not true, and I refused to agree to it. ... Mr. Adelson also wanted to be able to say that he had won the lawsuit without even mentioning that he had settled the dispute. I would not agree to that since it was not true.

    "As to the $200,000 medical fund, I would have thought that Mr. Adelson would have known that I could not accept that as an ethical journalist, because it would have put me in a highly compromised position in my profession. It would have prevented me from writing about him objectively. This I would not and could not do."

    Smith said that Barricade Books already has inserted an errata sheet into unsold copies of the book, correcting the errors that led to the lawsuit. "I had agreed to publish in my column, which is read by far more people than ever read or will read the book, the most dramatic correction of my career. But whatever I agreed to do, they would then ask for something more."

    Regarding the $15 million potential of the case, Smith said, "He knows I didn't pull that number out of a hat. That's what he sued for, so that's what you're supposed to write down."

    Smith's supervisor at the Review-Journal, Editor Thomas Mitchell said, "I find it disturbing that the third-richest man in America has had attorneys spend years pursuing litigation over a couple of paragraphs he didn't like in a book published two years ago."

    He added, "One of the elements in a libel suit is supposed to be how much the plaintiff was injured. But in the time since this book was published, Adelson has gone from 15th richest man in the world, according to the Forbes annual ratings, to sixth, so it's hard to see how he has been harmed."

    Mitchell said Adelson has sued others over seemingly minor statements. His Sands Corp. twice sued Las Vegas Sun writer Jeff Simpson over a 2006 column suggesting Adelson was unlikely to win a casino license in Singapore. But he did. Both lawsuits were dismissed.

    Mitchell said, "This whole series of events is nothing more nor less than trying to coerce everyone in journalism to not write anything he doesn't like."

    Smith and his co-defendants in the lawsuit, Barricade Books and its owner, Lyle Stuart, were represented by attorney David Blasband of New York. Stuart died last year, and the company is run by his widow, Carole Stuart, who is not personally a defendant. Barricade Books filed Wednesday for bankruptcy.

    According to the lawsuit, "Smith deceptively manipulates language, quotations and sources in order to concoct the smear that Adelson had dealings with the Boston Mob when Adelson was in the vending machine business. Smith's claims are baseless -- part of Smith's procrustean effort to find gangsters and molls behind every casino door."

    Smith and his wife, Patricia, have one daughter, Amelia, now 11. Three years ago, Amelia was diagnosed with a brain tumor and flown to Phoenix for a lifesaving operation. She is in recovery, and with the use of a wheelchair is able to attend middle school. Patricia Smith is a middle school teacher but is not currently employed, allowing her to care for her daughter full-time.

    "I wrote this book while our family was on the roller coaster," John Smith said. "There were diagnoses, surgery, the beginning of recovery, chemotherapy, radiation, then Amelia relapsed with another tumor, and we started recovering again. At various times during this we lived in an apartment, at home, at Ronald McDonald House, in Phoenix and Los Angeles. I'm not making excuses, but it was definitely a difficult time. And I've owned up to my mistakes and tried to do the right thing from the time I realized them."

    Contact A.D. Hopkins at ahopkins@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0270.

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    anonymous wrote on December 06, 2007 01:14 PM: Hey Mr. A: Tell us the inside story about your days in Boston...be truthful now ... we all know you are always truthful.


    Misty wrote on October 28, 2007 04:12 PM: A number of comments here say that Smith published corrections but here is what he actually said, "I had agreed to publish in my column, which is read by far more people than ever read or will read the book, the most dramatic correction of my career. But whatever I agreed to do, they would then ask for something more."

    So he has not done anything yet.

    Adelson's letter today detailed the lies Smith told. How would you like your kid to read lies like this about you? Smith is an arrogant bastard who is now hiding behind his poor, sick little girl. It is about time someone brought the media to account for all the lies they tell and lives they ruin. Ask the Duke lacrosse team what they think.



    jerry wrote on October 16, 2007 09:08 PM: I have read Mr. Smith's column for a number of yeaars and I have often found them entertaining as well as informative. When I hear of some billionaire going after a guy who has rewritten the error,yet Adelson still pursues the Smith, I'd say Adelson is petty, vindictive with delusions of godhood. Mr. Adelson move on with the rest of your life and what Mr. Smith is experiencing with his daughters health, life is very finite, and one should only count on what goes on in the here and now. Mr. Adelson let it go and now.


    Edmund wrote on October 13, 2007 03:51 PM: anonymous, if this went to court, there is a good chance that Adelson would not win. Smith has taken the appropriate steps to correct the problem by adding a supplement to the book and noting the mistakes in his column. As mentioned in this article, his column has more readership than his book.

    I doubt Adelson cares if he wins the lawsuit ... he only cares about burying Smith with an enormous amount of legal fees and destroying his life. Are a few mistakes that were corrected worth destroying a life? Newspapers make mistakes everyday and post corrections ... this is unavoidable. If there is anything petty about this situation, it is what Adelson is trying to do.


    anonymous wrote on October 13, 2007 01:21 PM: It too bad that someone becomes the bad guy just because of his success.

    Smith is a sleazy jounalist with rarely anything good to say about his 'targets'.

    With the consent of his cronies, he shoots and spews negativity only to squirm and whine when shots are returned.

    To the have nots that make the majority here, its about money with vicious personal attacks against a man they do not even know.

    Anyone can throw dirt the media makes a living at it while the masses feed on it.

    Mr Adelson has every right to repond according to his rights as prescribed by law.

    Why be petty about it.


    Edmund wrote on October 13, 2007 12:37 PM: Here is another interesting incident with Barricade Books:
    http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/Pub_lib.html

    I wonder Barricade Books has started carrying libel insurance yet for their writers? It doesn’t look like there is any insurance protecting John L. Smith.

    It seems the only thing Sheldon Adelson is interested in is financially destroying John L. Smith even though John was willing to apologize and correct the mistakes. Seriously, we are all humans and make mistakes ... Sheldon experienced very little to no damage ... this should not be an issue. This just shows the vengeance of Sheldon who is way too rich and seems to be extremely arrogant.

    Setting up a medical fund for John's daughter after financially destroying John is the least Sheldon can do ... but only $200,000? Give me a break!


    IA wrote on October 13, 2007 08:47 AM: It is very sad to see someone like Mr. Adelson to go after John Smith. According to my Chinese friends, he runs a very close knit operation with Chinese goverment in Macau. I think US Goverment needs to investigate him regarding his Macau activities. For example extending casino credit to Chinese officials.


    PCS wrote on October 12, 2007 07:39 PM: PRINT THE TRUTH AND THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN,THEY DO ANYTHING FOR A STORY OR TO WRITE A BOOK,IF I WAS RICH I WOULD GET THE BEST ATTORNEY TO FIGHT A PACK OF LIES, GOOD FOR YOU MR A.
    NOW THAT THIS IS ALL OUT THERE HE WILL SELL A LOT OF BOOKS AND MAKE A TON OF MONEY.....


    Mary Kravetz wrote on October 12, 2007 05:16 PM: God is Justice and Justice IS GOD. Stand by your principles Mr. Smith!
    God Bless you, protect you and your beloved family and thank you for being a stand-up GUY. Remember, the rich don't always win! Hooray for The RJ for supporting the best writer in Las Vegas.Sign me, one of your old fans!


    Steve wrote on October 12, 2007 04:48 PM: If John Smith didn't want to get sued, then he should make sure what he prints is fact instead of spreading his extreme left-wing liberal lies. Once it was proven that he lied, he should have recalled all of his books, refunded all monies he was paid, ran a retraction for 20 weeks in his "column", and agreed never to write another article again because he obviously isn't capable of verifying his "facts". He should not be allowed to write anything ever again except a check to Mr Adelson for $15 million dollars plus attorney fees and court costs.


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