VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FAIRFAX COUNTY ERIC J. BONETTI, Plaintiff, CIVIL ACTION NUMBER: CL 2020 007578
vs. KELLY GABLE, Defendant
PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE IN OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT’S PLEA OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS COMES NOW PLAINTIFF, Eric Bonetti, and submits this memorandum in opposition to Defendant’s Plea to the Statute of Limitations. 1.
This legal action arises, in part, as a result of a previous request by Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria, and its rector, Mr. Robert H. Malm, for a protective order against the instant Plaintiff.
2.
In their filings, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Robert H. Malm submitted myriad false and misleading statements of law and fact.
3.
In their filings, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm set submitted multiple outright fabrications, including claims that instant Plaintiff had not been previously licensed as an attorney, and that Plaintiff had not previously served as a police officer.
4.
On appeal to the circuit court, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm repeatedly demonstrated bad faith during discovery, requiring the Court to grant multiple Orders to Compel against the plaintiffs.
5.
Despite these orders, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm refused to comply.
6.
On multiple occasions during discovery, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm attempted to conceal information adverse to their case, including breaches of pastoral confidentiality by Mr. Malm.
7.
On April 6, 2018, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm issued responses to instant Plaintiff’s request for production of documents.
8.
The defamatory per se email that forms the basis of this action was omitted from the relevant production of documents.
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9.
The defamatory per se email that forms the basis of this action was not included in the relevant privilege log.
10. The defamatory per se email that forms the basis of this action was squarely within the ambit of instant Plaintiff’s request for the production of documents, as evinced in Attachment A. 11. Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm affirmatively stated that they had provided the documents relevant to instant Plaintiff’s request. 12. There are two untruthful statements in the defamatory per se email that forms the basis for this action. The first is the defamatory per se statement itself. The second is Mr. Malm’s fabrication, in which he tells Episcopal bishop Shannon Johnston that the events surrounding Ms. Gable’s defamatory per se statement (specifically, Plaintiff’s departure as executive director from non-profit RPJ Housing) occurred prior to Plaintiff’s arrival at Grace Episcopal Church. 13. Mr. Malm fully knows his statement about Plaintiff’s arrival at Grace Church is a fabrication. Indeed, Defendant Ms. Kelly Gable made her defamatory per se statements on the basis of her previous employment with RPJ Housing. 14. Plaintiff believes and avers that Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm fraudulently concealed the defamatory per se email that forms the basis of this action during discovery. 15. Plaintiff believes and avers that Grace Episcopal and Mr. Malm did so in order to avoid severe damage to their credibility in the prior legal action due to Mr. Malm’s fabrication. 16. Indeed, even if one were to conclude, arguendo, that the Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm were not able to locate a copy of this email through their own efforts, it would have been readily available simply by asking church vestry members for documents subject to discovery. Moreover, as a hierarchical church, even a casual inquiry would likely have elicited production of the relevant email from diocesan officials. 17. At various points in the prior litigation, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm committed perjury, with the latter inter alia falsely stating that instant Plaintiff’s late mother, Sigrid Yahner, then terminally ill and bedridden, or someone purporting to be her, contacted him repeatedly to set up appointments, only to cancel. See Attachment B. These statements were made under oath, in writing, while advised by legal counsel, and notarized by Grace Episcopal Church parishioner Jane Rosman. See Attachment B.
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18. Ms. Gable acknowledges that her defamatory per se email was sent on behalf of Grace Episcopal Church in her role as a vestry member. 19. In light of the past litigation-related misconduct of Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm, including their fraudulent concealment of this email, which would have undercut their credibility in the previous litigation, it is inappropriate that Ms. Gable, acting in a fiduciary capacity as a member of the church’s vestry — and whose litigation expenses may be provided by Mr. Malm — now be permitted to raise the defense of the statute of limitation as a bar. Further, it is well established in Virginia that silence can constitute fraud by omission. See Van Deusen v. Snead, 247 Va. 324, 328 (1994) 20. Plaintiff therefore respectfully asks this Court to toll the relevant statute of limitations pursuant to Va. Code § 8.01-229 (D). Alternatively, Plaintiff requests that the Court defer a decision on Defendant’s plea, pending introduction of further evidence of bad faith and fraudulent concealment on the part of Defendant Kelly Gable, Grace Episcopal Church and Mr. Malm.
I, Eric J. Bonetti, do affirm and attest that the statements set forth in this pleading are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Dated this 28th day of June, 2020.
ERIC J. BONETTI Pro Se Plaintiff 4129 Fountainside Lane 203 Fairfax VA 22030 eric.bonetti@me.com
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Exhibit A
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Exhibit B
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