ELIA JOINS THE LITIGATION FRAY IN LIMAS CASE

By Juan Montoya
State District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez has joined the free-for-all litigation frenzy by filing a civil lawsuit in which she accuses several of the persons involved in the federal corruption probe in Cameron County of libel, slander and defamation against her.With ex-Judge Abel C. Limas facing sentencing soon, former state rep Jim Solis starting his 47-month sentence as soon as there is room at the federal inn, and alleged money-man and mastermind Austin attorney Marc G. Rosenthal also awaiting the judge's decision pending his appeals, Elia is counting that their guilty pleas and convictions will be a slam dunk for her lawsuit.
She said she had "no choice" but to sue Limas, Solis, former-Port of Brownsville Police Chief George Gavito and others in order to clear her name. She also named Limas’ wife Genevieve and their son Abel Limas Jr. She charges that in the course of their illegal activities, the defendants libeled and slandered her.
Since her lawsuit does not specify the false statements that the defendants are alleged to have made, it's assumed that they are in the contents of "the 40,000-plus recorded telephone conversations (of) all of the actions of defendants against Lopez, specifically, but not limited to slander, defamation and libel, loss of reputation and embarrassment,” the lawsuits states.
She is acting as her own attorney and seeks unspecified damages from the defendants.The Brownsville Herald reported last week that Limas Jr., representing himself, filed a response to the lawsuit denying the allegations and also asserted 30 defenses, while noting that Lopez’s lawsuit does not give fair notice of the alleged statements made, the manner in which the statements were either slanderous or libelous, and the individuals that made the statements.
We have no idea what was said against the judge, but Gavito has been known to use colorful language when referring to local individuals.
We remember when he was a sheriff investigator and was on the trial of a murder suspect. When a reporter came back with statements made by George to the effect that "we are going to get that animal," his uncle Oscar Castillo – editor of the El Nuevo Heraldo – said his nephew's loquacity would one day get him in trouble. Have the chickens come home to roost for George? If anything, this promises to be a lively contest between these two. Ni uno de los dos se deja!
Elia Cornejo alleges that the basis of her lawsuit dates back to 2006 and 2008 when the former judge told Limas she was going to run against him for the 404th District Court and said that at the time "Limas became angry and threatened revenge."
“Nevertheless, the messages of revenge made Lopez nervous, worried, lose sleep, awake with trepidation, dread the news of the day, created anxiety, and loss of peace of mind,” she stated in the lawsuit.
Some of her acquaintances have said that because Limas was an ex-cop, he might retaliate in some way against her or her family.
In the past, Cornejo-Lopez has stated that the majority of the cases filed by Solis and Rosenthal in the 404th were transferred without her approval to Leonel Alejandro's 357th District Court which Limas – now of counsel to the Rosenthal firm – considered more friendly.
When Cornejo-Lopez got took over the court from Limas on Jan. 2, 2009, the clerk from the office of District Clerk Aurora De la Garza showed her a lengthy list of the cases Abel had transferred to Alejandro's court.
"I knew that it was my prerogative to get them back in my court if I wanted to," Cornejo-Lopez told a friend. "But I thought about it and I decided it wasn't my fight."
The Cameron County judiciary has seen its share of troubles before, and this promises to be a free-for all with allegations of bad blood and vendettas coming from both sides.
Even though most of the allegations of illegal activity against the defendants have emerged in court, there have also been allegations of abuse of her position bandied against Elia by local attorneys and former office employees, some of who have chosen to resign in protest.
And at least one attorney has stated on the record that he feared his client would not receive a fair trial because he – ready for this – would not buy Girl Scout cookies from the judge's daughter.
Nat C. Perez filed a recusal motion against Elia claiming that she had “gone out of her way” to remove him from cases in her court on numerous occasions, and this time Perez feared that a client’s right to a fair trial could be impacted by Judge Lopez’s apparent wrath.
In the end, Perez was successful in getting her recused from his cases.
Apparently, Elia's motherly instincts have led her to issue similar rulings in at least another case involving the Girl Scouts.
In an order last year modifying probation judgement in the 2006 case of a felony theft (Third Degree) against Lyford resident Noe Treviño Romo (05-CR-00001531), Cornejo-Lopez said she would overlook some 77 hours from a required 150 community service hours and other conditions that she ordered him to perform back when he was placed on probation if he would donate a trip to Las Vegas to the Girl Scouts.
We're not kidding.
In the order signed by Lopez-Cornejo: As per the Honorable Court's order of Oct. 4, 2012, the defendant will donate a trip to Las Vegas to the Girl Scouts in lieu of the remaining Community Service Hours."
As in all defamation suits, the allegations will fly back and forth until the legal process lurches toward its sordid end months – if not years – down the road. Until that is finished, expect charges and counter charges to keep the newspaper readership titillated with the sordid details of life in the local courts.