Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer seeks sanctions for Kari Lake in defamation suit

Lawyers for Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer are requesting sanctions in an ongoing defamation case against former gubernatorial and current U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, claiming her attorneys are "doing everything possible to waste time and stall discovery."

Richer's motion, filed Monday afternoon, requests monetary sanctions to "compensate for defendants' bad faith and to deter future instances of such conduct." It also requests a scheduling conference to get the case moving forward.

Timothy La Sota, an attorney for Lake, said the motion has "zero merit."

"Mr. Richer has an army of East Coast attorneys being funded by unknown sources at his disposal," La Sota said. "We have operated in good faith throughout but we won't be unduly rushed in a way that will compromise our defense to Mr. Richer's lawsuit targeting Ms. Lake's free speech."

The filing comes on the heels of Richer's team entering an application for default against Lake and her attorneys. That document also alleges Lake's attorneys are refusing to move the case forward.

Richer's request also comes weeks after the Arizona Supreme Court lifted a temporary stay in the defamation lawsuit and rejected Lake's appeal challenging Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman's December decision to allow the case to go forward.

The initial lawsuit, filed in June by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, accuses Lake and her affiliates of spreading false information about Richer after the November 2022 election. He alleges Lake knew, or should have known, the statements were false. Lake and Richer are both Republicans.

But Lake says Richer, who is running for reelection, is seeking to silence her and other election integrity critics. She has repeatedly condemned his defamation suit against her.

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What happens next?

The lawsuit is expected to continue to discovery, the formal process of exchanging information between attorneys about witnesses and evidence that could be presented before a jury at trial.

Attorneys for Richer previously told The Republic that they expect that to be "a reasonably lengthy process" that could take "several months."

The case could go to trial during a contentious election year in which both Richer and Lake will be running for elected offices, or immediately after in 2025.

La Sota didn't immediately respond to a question from The Arizona Republic about whether Lake's attorneys had filed or expected to file a response to Richer's default. Their deadline to do so is Monday, March 25.

If Lake's attorneys don't respond, Richer could win a default judgement, meaning Lake would forfeit her right to defend herself in the case.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip to share on elections or voting? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Stephen Richer seeks sanctions against Kari Lake in defamation lawsuit