According to court documents obtained by Soap Opera Network, former “General Hospital” star Ingo Rademacher is seeking to quash a subpoena from American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (ABC) that was issued to the Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids (PERK) organization “on the grounds that the category of requested documents violate privacy rights and are irrelevant to this action.”
In a declaration submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court on May 26, 2022, attorney Scott J. Street of JW/ Howard Attorneys, Ltd, the attorneys of record for plaintiff Rademacher, stated that on April 22, 2022, the law firm was served with a notice and copy of defendant ABC’s business records subpoena issued to the “non-party” organization.
“PERK, Ingo and myself have had discussions about this case – more specifically, in preparing for the litigation of this case. All discussions occurred with me or at my direction,” Street said in his declaration. “These discussions and documents provided to PERK, if any, were private and confidential and are protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. Our firm is serving ABC with written objections to the subpoena on that basis.”
In the request to quash it stated, “it is not hard to appreciate that ABC’s subpoena – seeking confidential communications and attorney work product between Ingo, Ingo’s counsel and a speculated litigation funder – does nothing to prove Ingo’s claims or ABC’s defenses. The subpoena is merely ABC’s campaign of intimidation to harass and pressure Ingo to drop the case against them. As an ill-fated means of garnering litigation leverage in this action, ABC has set about to intentionally harass every single person that Ingo may have spoken to in the last five years to destroy Ingo’s character and ascertain how someone could afford to bring such a case against ABC. Apparently, ABC hopes to resolve this action by intimidating Ingo and asserting its power as the ‘big-pocket’ litigator that can crush Ingo’s ability to litigate this case.”
The motion further states, “ABC refused to mediate this case – a fact which evidences the true nature of this subpoena. It cannot allege it is seeking financial information for purposes of settlement, in part because its wholly irrelevant, but also because that is a ruse evidenced by ABC’s own actions. ABC is not entitled to sensitive, private information that is irrelevant to Ingo’s allegations concerning privacy rights and unlawful discrimination, though a subpoena or otherwise. ABC is also not entitled to know whether any person or entity is financing this litigation, if at all. It is apparent that the information is designed solely to harass as it has no relevancy to this action. The subpoena should be quashed.”
A hearing is set for Thursday, September 8, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. or as soon thereafter.
According to a memorandum of points and authorities included in the motion regarding his reasoning behind his decision to sue ABC, “[Rademacher] filed this action alleging violations of his privacy rights, unlawful religious and medical condition discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination” following ABC’s decision in summer 2021 to order anybody working on a television show it produced to get a Covid-19 vaccination. “That meant, Ingo, as a cast member of the ABC-produced soap opera, ‘General Hospital,’ which he had been a cast member for 25 years, was required to receive a Covid-19 shot to continue working on the show or request a religious exemption,” the suit says. “Although ABC claimed to grant exemptions for sincerely held religious objections to the shot, it refused to accept Ingo’s request – without explanation. ABC then terminated Ingo’s contract to perform.”
In November 2021, it was announced that Rademacher would be exiting his role as Jasper “Jax” Jacks on the ABC drama after failing to comply with the company’s vaccine mandate for employees. He last appeared on the soap on Monday, November 22, 2021, when the character departed Port Charles for Australia on important business.
A jury trial is currently on the docket for Monday, February 27, 2023.