Lehigh Valley Radio: Defamation Suit Settled By iHeartMedia

In Pennslyvania, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin has settled defamation claims against the iHeartMedia. WAEB 790 AM and talk show host Bobby Gunther Walsh as the company emerged from bankruptcy last spring, court records show.

Bobby Gunther-Walsh

The Morning Call reports a bankruptcy judge in Houston has now signed off on an agreement between Martin and WAEB owner iHeartMedia Inc. that allows Martin’s remaining defamation claims against blogger Bill Villa to move forward in Lehigh County Court, according to a copy of the agreement filed there in December.

Martin sued iHeartMedia, Walsh and Villa, who has been publicly critical of Martin for his handling of drunken driving cases, including charges against the driver in a 2006 alcohol-related crash that killed Villa’s daughter, Sheena Villa, and led to a 5½- to 12-year sentence.

The 2015 lawsuit claimed Villa damaged Martin’s reputation with statements online and on Walsh’s radio show calling Martin “crooked” and “corrupt" and saying his office “fixes” criminal cases.

The settlement between Martin and iHeartMedia is acknowledged in the December agreement, but was not filed in Lehigh County Court or U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Martin’s office denied The Morning Call’s request for the settlement amount.

In the iHeartMedia’s bankruptcy case, Martin filed claims as a creditor seeking $5 million but the records don’t indicate whether any payment was made to Martin. Alexander Bilus, iHeartMedia’s attorney, said he could not talk about the settlement. Martin said he would not comment and deferred to his attorneys.

The federal bankruptcy code automatically pauses lawsuits against companies seeking bankruptcy protection. Although iHeartMedia, the nation’s largest radio broadcasting company, won approval in March of a reorganization plan that allows it to shed more than $10 billion in debt, the stay on Martin’s lawsuit remained in place. The agreement with iHeartMedia revives the defamation case after nearly two years of dormancy, since the broadcasting giant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2018.