Lawsuits target Buchanan's naysayers

27 Aug 2008 // Congressman Vern Buchanan's business partner again fired back at those accusing the District 13 Republican of fostering consumer fraud at his Florida car dealerships and violating federal campaign finance laws.

Darrin Chrisman, Buchanan's business partner at Sarasota 500 LLC, filed two lawsuits in Sarasota County, accusing a former finance manager at Venice Nissan Dodge and a former customer at Sarasota Ford of making false public statements in attempt to destroy their businesses.

Both lawsuits also name Duane Overholt, the Maryland-based consumer fraud consultant who initiated the lawsuits against Buchanan. Chrisman filed a separate lawsuit against Overholt last week.

"There's been a lot of allegations put out there that are false," Chrisman said. "It's my business; I'm going to vigorously defend it."

One of the lawsuits says former finance manager DJ Padilla told Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington that Venice Nissan Dodge representatives asked him to contribute to Buchanan's primary campaign in 2005 and promised that those who donated would get their money back plus additional compensation.

Yet, the lawsuit says, Padilla also gave a TV interview in which he said he had never been asked to donate to Buchanan's campaign.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington recently filed a complaint against Buchanan with the Federal Election Commission.

Padilla said that his allegations have never changed. His former boss, Carlo Bell, filed a lawsuit against Buchanan, saying that he was pressured to donate to his primary campaign and then reimbursed in cash for his $1,000 donation.

"This seems a little out of hand," Padilla said of Chrisman's lawsuit. "Did I see it? No, I did not see it, and I told everybody that. But I heard that it happened."

Chrisman's other lawsuit accuses Eve Abaza, who Chrisman says bought a 2004 Ford Mustang from Sarasota Ford in 2007, of defaming the dealership by lying to the media. It says that Abaza falsely told the Huffington Post Web site that when financing her Mustang, the dealership told the bank that the car had features it did not have in order to get more money and secure a higher loan.

The lawsuits also accuse Overholt of "spearheading the false and defamatory statements" and of coercing Abaza to make her statements "on camera and for mass distribution."

"I've done nothing wrong except for trying to protect consumers," said Overholt, who runs StopAutoFraud.com. "I take this as a direct attack by Buchanan and his organization to stop the dissemination of information to the public by making people afraid to stand up and tell the truth."

Doug Lyons, the Tallahassee-based attorney handling the seven cases filed against Buchanan and his dealerships, said he had planned to file lawsuits on behalf of Padilla and Abaza and will now countersue.

Buchanan, who is running for re-election, is unavailable for comment this week, said spokeswoman Sally Tibbetts.

The congressman is taking a few days with his family before going to St. Paul, Minn., for the Republican National Convention this weekend, Tibbetts said.

Chrisman said Buchanan, majority owner of the dealerships, did not discuss filing the three lawsuits with him. "He approves of defending ourselves," Chrisman said.