Lawsuit claims NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's campaign failed to pay $114,000 polling bill
Published in News & Features
RALEIGH, N.C. — A polling company sued Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign on Tuesday over a $114,000 bill it claims was never paid.
The company, Vox Insights LLC, claims that the campaign “without excuse or justification” failed to pay for polling data it provided last month within a 30-day deadline set out in its contract.
The lawsuit, first reported by Courthouse News, asks a judge to freeze a portion of the campaign’s finances because “upon information and belief, defendant intends to use all monies currently in its custody or control by Election Day.”
A spokesperson for Robinson’s campaign called the lawsuit “completely baseless” in a statement to The News & Observer.
“The campaign has resolved all invoices for all previous work from this company, and does not owe them one penny,” the spokesperson said.
He went on to say that the disputed work product was agreed to without Robinson’s approval by a consultant who no longer works on the campaign.
Following a bombshell CNN report tying Robinson to a series of racist and sexually graphic online comments, most of his campaign staff and official lieutenant governor staff resigned.
It’s unclear if the consultant in question was a part of this initial exodus.
Vox is seeking over $25,000 in damages and has requested a jury trial.
Third-quarter campaign finance reports — which show how much money campaigns have available — were due on Tuesday, but Robinson’s did not appear on the state’s website. His spokesperson said the report has been filed.
The news comes several weeks after Robinson filed a lawsuit of his own.
After CNN published its report on Robinson’s online comments, he sued the network for defamation.
His lawsuit originally sought $50 million in damages, but that figure was later amended to “in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars.”
North Carolina law prohibits plaintiffs from specifying the amount of damages they demand over $25,000.
The first hearing in that case is scheduled for Nov. 18.
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