Letter to Cece Woods from Luna attorney

Lavely 8c Singer
JOHN H. LAVELY. JR. PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION T. WAYNE HARMAN

MARTIN D. SINGER ATTORNEYS AT LAW DAVID B. JONELIS
BRIAN G. WOLF MELISSA Y. LERNER.1.
LYNDA B. GOLDMAN SUITE 2400 KELSEY J. LEEKER
PAUL N. SORRELL 2049 CENTURY PARK EAST CESIE C. ALVAREZ^
MICHAEL E. WEINSTEN MAX D. FABRICANT
EVAN N. SPIEGEL LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA 90067-2906 MEGAN S. MALLONEE
ALLISON S. HART TELEPHONE(310)556-3501 ^ ALSO ACMITTCDIN NY
● ALSO Al lITTED
FACSIMILE (310)556-3615
www.LAVELYSINGER.coM
December 11, 2024
VIA EMAIL: cecewoods(^.Qmail.com

ihelocaluial}bii(a).2maiI.com
CeCe Woods
Investigative Reporter
Re: Robert G. Luna v. CeCe Woods
Dear Ms. Woods.
Our firm is litigation counsel to Los Angeles Sheriff, Robert G. Luna. I write regarding
the outrageous defamatoiy statement you made on your public “X” account page on November
10, 2024 in which you stated that my client is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and suggested
he is unable to perform his obligations due to the effects of the disease (the ‘'Statement”). Be
advised that your assertion, even by implication, is highly defamatory and has exposed you, and
all those involved in this conduct, to very substantial liability. We demand that you
immediately remove the Statement from your X page, demand that you immediately cease
and desist from posting and/or disseminating any further false statements about my client,
including without limitation any statements accusing my client of suffering from diseases that
impact his professional obligations and/or presenting my client in a false light, and demand that
you immediately post a Correction on your public “X” account page stating Sheriff Robert G.
Luna is not suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and does not need to step down as the Sheriff.
Should you ignore this demand, you will be exposing yourself to significant legal liability.
A. The False and Actionable Statements Concerning Mv Client
You have published two patently false statements, as seen below, that expose you to
substantial liability:(1)that my client suffers from Parkinson’s disease and confinned that you
had “multiple sources” to support your claim and (2)that my client may no longer be able to
fulfill his professional obligations due to health concerns. By publishing such blatantly libelous
fabrications about my client, you are liable for compensatoiy and punitive damages and other
legal and equitable relief Indeed, where (as here) a publication contains provable false, factual
assertions, it rises to the level of defamation. “The elements of a cause of action for defamation
are a false statement, published without privilege or authorization to a third party, constituting
fault as judged by, at a minimum, a negligence standard, and it must either cause special harm or
constitute defamation per se.” Accadia Site Contracting, Inc. v. Skiirka, 129 A.D.3d 1453, 1453
CeCe Woods
December 11. 2024
Page 2
(2015); see also Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990); Giesler v. Petrocelli, 616
F.2d 636(2d Cir. 1980)(allegedly false portrayal of plaintiff in a book titled as “fiction” held
actionable under defamation law).
X ^ Post
CcceWoods^
<«> Settings ^ceceswoods
NEW:Rumors have been heawly circulating throughout @LASDHQ and

@LBPD that @LACo5heriff could potentially step down as the head of
the largest sherifTs deparbnent in the country due to health concerns
(multiple sources say Parkinson’s disease).
12;-14 PM ● Nov 10,2024 ● 4,018 Views
13 Reposts 3Quotes 22Ukes 18oo>imath
u o
With regard to any and all false statements you attribute to others, and claim to be only
repeating as “rumors,” those too are actionable against you individually. See Goldwater v.
Ginzburg, 414 F.2d 324, 337(C.A.N.Y. 1969)(“[rjepetition of another’s words does not release
one of responsibility if the repeater knows that the words are false or inherently improbable, or
CeCe Woods
December 11,2024
Page 3
there are obvious reasons to doubt the veracity of the person quoted or the accuracy of his
reports”); Ray v. Citizen-News Co., 14 Cal.App.2d 6. 9, 57 P.2d 527(1936){“[a] false statement
is not less libelous because it is the repetition of rumor or gossip or of statements or allegations
that others have made concerning the matter.”)(emphasis added); KhaM’ar v. Globe Int’l, Inc., 19
Cal.4th 254, 268. 79 Cal.Rptr.2d 178 (1998)(“At common law, one who republishes a
defamatory statement is deemed thereby to have adopted it and so may be held liable, together
with the person who originated the statement, for resulting injury to the reputation of the
defamation victim”); Jackson v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 68 Cal.App.4th 10(1998)(“when a
party repeats a slanderous charge, he is equally guilty of defamation, even though he states the
source of the charge and indicates that he is merely repeating a rumor.”)(emphasis added).
To the extent you attempt to claim that your false factual portrayal of my client is mere
“opinion”(which it is not), it still is actionable. See Overstock.com, Inc. v. Gradient Analytics,
Inc., 151 Cal.App.4th 688, 701 (2007); Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 17-18 (1990)
(“If a speaker says, Tn my opinion John Jones is a liar,' he implies a knowledge of facts which
lead to the conclusion that Jones told an untruth. Even if the speaker states the facts upon which
he bases his opinion, if those facts are either incorrect or incomplete, or if his assessment ofthem
is erroneous, the statement may still imply a false assertion of fact. Simply couching such
statements in tenns of opinion does not dispel these implications; and the statement, ‘In my
opinion Jones is a liar.’ can cause as much damage to reputation as the statement, ‘Jones is a
liar.’”).
Moreover, as you portray yourself as a journalist, your decision to publish such

defamatory statement in such a reckless manner was constitutionally malicious.
By publishing the Statement and referring to “rumors” does not exculpate you from
liability. You knew that the Statement could cause substantial damages to a public official. It
was reckless for you to publish the Statement without at minimum contacting my client to give
him an opportunity to respond to dispel the malicious lie that you published. Constitutional
malice can be shown through the calculated use of the journalistic device of pre-conceived
storylines, themes, or angles. See Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 680 F.2d 527, 539(7th Cir. 1982);
see also St. Amant v. Thompson, 390 U.S. 727(1968)(malice can be proven in a libel case by,
among other things, the publisher’s reliance on sources known to be hostile, biased or unreliable,
or relying on persons who the publisher does not know to be reliable). Your false and
defamatory assertions, even if arguably made by implication, are extremely damaging to my
client’s reputation. White v. Fraternal Order ofPolice, 909 F.2d 512, 518 (D.C. Cir. 1990)
(“defamation by implication stems not from what is literally stated, but what is implied.”);
Kapellas v. Kofman. 1 Cal. 3d 20, 33(1969)(publisher liable “for what is insinuated as well as
for what is stated explicitly”); Solano v. Playgirl, Inc., 292 F.3d 1078, 1083 (9th Cir. 2002);
Stevens v. Iowa Newspapers, Inc., 728 N.W.2d 823, 827(Iowa 2007)(“Defamation by
implication arises, not from what is stated, but from what is implied when a defendant(1)
juxtaposes a series of facts so as to imply a defamatory connection between them, or(2) creates a
defamatory implication by omitting facts,[such that] he may be held responsible for the
defamatory implication”); Simon & Schuster, Inc., 85 N.Y.2d 373(1995)
(“‘Defamation by implication’ is premised not on direct statements but on false suggestions,
impressions and implications arising from otherwise truthful statements.”).
CeCe Woods
December 11. 2024
Page 4
In addition, depicting my client in afalse light, either by fabrication, fictionalization, or

any other type of false characterization or description {whether defamatory or not) exposes you
to liability for substantial damages, pursuant to well established legal precedents. See, e.g.,
Cantrell v. Forest City Publ. Co., 419 U.S. 245 (1974)(newspaper purporting to recount the story
of a family after the death of the father in a bridge collapse); Varnish v. Best Medium Publ. Co.,
405 F.2d 608(2nd Cir. 1968)(tabloid report concerning murder-suicide involving plaintiffs
wife); Martin v. Municipal Publ,510 F.Supp. 255(E.D. Pa. 1981)(publication of a photograph
of plaintiff in defendant’s newspaper with caption falsely implying that he was a closet
transvestite with a drinking problem); Braun v. Flynt. 726 F.2d 245 (5th Cir. 1984)(publication of
photograph of plaintiff in men’s magazine); Maples v. National Enquirer, 763 F.Supp. 1137
(N.D. Ga. 1990)(tabloid story falsely citing father as source of information for story about
daughter stated cause of action); Peoples Bank and Trust Co. ofMountain Home (conservator of
Estate ofNellie Mitchell) v. Globe International, Inc., 786 F.Supp. 791 (W.D. Ark. 1992)786
F.2d 791 affirmed and remanded (re: punitive damages) 798 F.2d 1065, on remand 817 F.2d 72,
cert, denied 114 S.Ct. 343(1993)(false statement in tabloid that plaintiff in her 90’s was
pregnant); v. Bulletin Co., 190 Pa.Super 528, 154 A.2d 422(1959)(court upheld
judgment against a newspaper for invasion of plaintiffs privacy notwithstanding that the “basic
facts” were true, that the event was “newsworthy,” but that the writer “embellished and
fictionalized” the events creating a “sensationalized version”).
B. Cease and Desist and Demand for Removal
In light of the above, we demand that vou cease and desist from posting and/or
disseminating any false statements about my client, including without limitation any statements
accusing my client of having a disease that impacts his obligations and/or otherwise presenting
my client in a false light. Further, we demand that vou immediately remove the Statement
from your “X” page and any other locations where it or similar language has been posted. Lastly,
we demand that you issue a Correction on your public X account page stating that my client
does not suffer from Parkinson’s Disease and does not need to step down as the sheriff.
If this matter is not promptly resolved to our client’s satisfaction, we will protect and
enforce our client’s substantial rights and remedies against you to the fullest extent permitted by
the law.
Given that you now have been placed on formal notice of the false and defamatory nature
of your claims regarding my client, any other false and defamatory statements you may issue
about my client will supply further evidence of constitutional malice, will support an award of
punitive damages, and will greatly increase the liability you already face for your tortious
conduct.
//
//
//
CeCe Woods
December 11, 2024
Page 5
This letter does not constitute a complete or exhaustive statement of my client’s rights or
claims. Nothing contained herein is intended as, nor should it be deemed to constitute, a waiver
or relinquishment of any of our client’s rights or remedies, whether legal or equitable, all of
which are hereby expressly reserved.
Sincerely,
MARTIN D.
cc: Sheriff Robert G. Luna

Letter to Cece Woods from Luna attorney

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Lavely 8c Singer

JOHN H. LAVELY. JR. PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION T. WAYNE HARMAN

December 11, 2024

VIA EMAIL: cecewoods(^.Qmail.com

Re: Robert G. Luna v. CeCe Woods

Dear Ms. Woods.

A. The False and Actionable Statements Concerning Mv Client

NEW:Rumors have been heawly circulating throughout @LASDHQ and

12;-14 PM ● Nov 10,2024 ● 4,018 Views

13 Reposts 3Quotes 22Ukes 18oo>imath

Moreover, as you portray yourself as a journalist, your decision to publish such

In addition, depicting my client in afalse light, either by fabrication, fictionalization, or

B. Cease and Desist and Demand for Removal

cc: Sheriff Robert G. Luna

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