Judge James Wilson Grants Lance Gilman A Continuance In Gilman v. Toll

First District Court Judge James Wilson issued a continuance on the Gilman v. Toll hearing scheduled for December 20th, 2018. Lance Gilman’s attorney Gus Flangas requested the continuance on Friday, December 14th citing personal reasons.

Judge Wilson did not set a new date for the hearing but indicated the hearing may be heard as soon as the end of February. The First District Court hears cases in Storey County on the last Thursday of each month at the Courthouse in Virginia City.

For those of you who don’t know, The Storey Teller’s Editor Sam Toll is being sued by TRIC Owner, Mustang Ranch Brothel Owner, Blockchains Marketing, Real Estate Broker and Government Affairs employee, and Storey County Commissioner Lance Gilman for defamation per se.

Mr. Gilman sued Mr. Toll in December of 2017 after Toll published a series of articles critical of Mr. Gilman. During a deposition in May, Mr. Toll refused to reveal sources of information contained in articles Mr. Toll wrote about Gilman, based on the advice of his attorney Luke Busby. Mr. Gilman’s attorney then filed a motion to have the court determine if Mr. Toll could enjoy the protection of Nevada’s Reporter Shield Law.

Is The Storey Teller The Modern Equivalent Of A Newspaper Or Periodical?

The purpose of the canceled hearing was to determine whether 1) Mr. Toll is a reporter or not, and 2) whether The Storey Teller is the modern equivalent of a newspaper or periodical. Mr. Gilman’s attorney had scheduled 8 expert witnesses and requested 2 days of examination while Mr. Toll requested 4 expert witnesses and one day of examination. Judge Wilson denied Mr. Gilman’s witnesses and examination requests because Mr. Gilman’s attorney failed to follow the court’s instructions. Judge Wilson also denied one of Mr. Toll’s witnesses but granted Mr. Toll his day of examination and three expert witnesses.

Earlier this year, Judge Wilson threw out 7 of the 8 charges of defamation against Mr. Toll. According to court documents, Judge Wilson will make a determination as to the journalistic status of Toll and The Teller at the conclusion of the hearing. Then the only thing that remains is the decision on defamation. In order to prevail, Gilman’s attorney needs to prove that Toll was lying when he printed the allegedly defamatory statement and that Toll proceeded to print the article with malice.

The Teller will print an update on the hearing when we receive information on the hearing date.