DVM files defamation suit over ex-relative's 911 call

DAYTON, OHIO — An Ohio veterinarian filed a $2 million civil action against her former father-in-law, claiming a 911 call he made that led to her and her ex-husband's arrests last year on domestic-violence charges defamed her, derailed her run for political office and hurt her veterinary practice.

Stephanie Studebaker, 46, of Centerville, Ohio, a Democrat who challenged U.S. Rep. Mike Turner in Ohio's 3rd Congressional District, withdrew from the race after she and her then-husband, Samuel Studebaker, 40, were arrested in August of last year following an altercation at their home. They signed complaints against each other and posted $25,000 bonds, but later declined to pursue the charges. They are now divorced.

In her civil complaint, filed in Montgomery County Common Please Court last month, Stephanie Studebaker alleges that James Studebaker, of Union, Ohio, who made the 911 call at the request of his son, defamed her by saying during the call that she was "extremely violent," "has a history of alcohol abuse" and has "a history of domestic violence."

Her lawsuit argues that James Studebaker knew his comments were public, subject to being recorded and publicized in the news media and that as a result of them she "suffered injury to her reputation and was exposed to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, shame and disgrace."

She seeks a total of $2 million in damages — $500,000 for lost compensation, including $337,000 she would have earned had she been elected to Congress, plus $7,500 she spent on her campaign, compensation for 2,000-plus hours of time spent on the campaign (computed at $52 per hour) and $1.5 million in punitive damages.

When Studebaker dropped out of the congressional race, a special primary election was held last September to select a new candidate. Richard Chema won that election, but lost to Republican incumbent Turner in the November general election. Studebaker received her veterinary degree from The Ohio State University, began practice in 1990 and opened her own business, Peace of Mind Veterinary Relief Services, in 1992.