A.G. Gancarski
A lawsuit in Duval County accusing U.S. Rep. Randy Fine of defamation is closed.
Maleana Gay, who filed the complaint in August 2024, has filed a motion to throw out the case, according to records.
In her complaint, Gay stated that Fine accused her of having an “unabashed Nazi” as a running mate in a race for Republican State Committeewoman in August 2024. Gay also alleged Fine said she had “endorsed an avowed bigot” and supported an “unrepentant antisemite,” and that he sent an email “that implied she was an antisemite.”
By December, a process server said he had served the then-state Senator’s wife, Wendy Fine, when she was pulling her car into her garage, by leaving the documents at the Fines’ door.
Randy Fine refuted that claim, saying that she was not served and that they were not aware of the alleged attempt at substitute service from the process server.
Additionally, Fine’s law firm, GrayRobinson, noted that Fine’s alleged comments were protected by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statutory language, which “precludes any person from filing a lawsuit arising from the exercise of free speech in connection with a public issue.”
Moreover, GrayRobinson noted that after a default judgment against Fine in January, he retained them as counsel in an attempt to resolve the issue.
Judge James Daniel vacated that default judgment due to questions about whether Fine was properly served.
Furthermore, the Judge wrote, “Plaintiff shall serve Defendant with a request for waiver of service of process pursuant to Rule 1.070(i), which Defendant shall execute, accept and return to Plaintiff’s counsel,” and from there “Defendant shall have 60 days after the date of receipt of the request for waiver to file a response to Plaintiff’s Complaint.”
Gay changed counsel during this case, engaging former state Rep. Anthony Sabatini’s firm months back.
Ultimately, though, changing lawyers doesn’t seem to have improved her positioning in this case.
