At another hearing in St. Luke’s lawsuit against Ammon Bundy, he is a no-show yet again
Neither Ammon Bundy nor co-defendant Diego Rodriguez showed up for a hearing Tuesday at the Ada County Courthouse, where St. Luke’s Health System was seeking contempt sanctions against them for refusing to respond to a lawsuit.
St. Luke’s filed the lawsuit against Bundy and Rodriguez in May, alleging that Bundy, his activist organization — called the People’s Rights Network — and Rodriguez lied about the circumstances of a child welfare case and created a “baseless smear campaign” in order to raise money for political gain, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.
Rodriguez filed a response to the lawsuit about one hour prior to the hearing, using a Florida address, but his response did not address Tuesday’s motion for sanctions, according to St. Luke’s attorneys.
St. Luke’s lawyer Erik Stidham said the health system is seeking civil and criminal sanctions against Bundy and Rodriguez, but the court could not file a motion for contempt given the defendants’ absence.
Fourth District Judge Lynn Norton ruled that Bundy and Rodriguez must cover all of the expenses for upcoming depositions in the suit, however, including court reporter costs, administrative costs and fees for attorneys. The deposition for Bundy, who has offered no response to the lawsuit, is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 30, while Rodriguez’s is set for Friday, Oct. 7.
“Costs would not have incurred if Mr. Bundy had actually responded to the normal expedited discovery request,” Norton said.
Stidham said St. Luke’s was hopeful the pair were going to appear in court, but now it will continue taking the necessary steps to move forward with civil sanctions. Norton said that if St. Luke’s were to seek incarceration, then she must arraign the defendants and give them the right to have a jury trial. Stidham said the health system is not seeking incarceration.
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 6:58 PM.
