An Oro Valley man who has been in a long-running legal fight with former UA assistant basketball coach Josh Pastner has filed a lawsuit against the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and a reporter claiming “false statements†have been made in news reports about the litigation.
Ron Bell filed the suit in Pima County Superior Court against the Star and reporter Caitlin Schmidt. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Schmidt has written several articles about Bell and his fiancée, Jennifer Pendley, who have been in litigation with Pastner, who has been the head men’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech since February 2018. Pastner’s lawsuit against the couple claims they tried to blackmail him over the course of several months.
On Thursday, a Superior Court judge ruled Pastner’s lawsuit alleging blackmail and defamation against the pair can proceed.
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The pair filed a counterclaim against Pastner claiming he sexually assaulted her in 2016 and groped her on various occasions.
Contact reporter Joe Ferguson at jferguson@tucson.com or 573-4197. On Twitter: @JoeFerguson
Joe Ferguson
Reporter
