Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof is one of three people suing Nye County Commissioner Andrew “Butch” Borasky over comments made at a recent board meeting.
Hof, Nye County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Burdzinski and Donald Cox, the husband of Nye County Commissioner Donna Cox, filed a complaint Thursday with the Fifth Judicial Court in Pahrump accusing Borasky of defamation of character, intentional infliction of emotional distress and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.
The plaintiffs are seeking $100,000 in punitive damages and $10,000 each in individual damages for each of the three causes of action.
The lawsuit stems from remarks Borasky made Nov. 21 at a county Board of Commissioners meeting in Pahrump.
“I’ve just got a gut feeling that three individuals might have my number,” Borasky said at the meeting, which is archived online. “If I should disappear, hit in the head with a brick, get run off the road or any other function to take my life away from me, then I would ask that they talk to Mr. Dennis Hof, Mr. Don Cox and Mr. Joe Burdzinski. I will put that in writing to all the departments, all the sheriffs, and to a whole bunch of agencies, because it’s just a gut feeling, but when I get them, they’re usually right.”
The remarks were played on the local TV news, which posts its nightly newscast online via YouTube, making it available worldwide, the lawsuit says.
Boraksy wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Nevada state law, however, seems to cast some doubt on the case, stating that any comment made by a member of a public body during a public meeting is “absolutely privileged and does not impose liability for defamation or constitute a ground for recovery in any civil action.”
Hof and Boraksy have had several contentious moments at previous commission meetings, revolving around brothel codes and possible violations.
That, coupled with Hof’s run at state Assembly in 2016 and his plan to run again next year, is what the brothel owner said he believes is behind Borasky’s comments. “He’s given me a hard time ever since I ran for office,” Hof said.
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