Kit Lam settles the lawsuit with defendant Jason Kruta for $1 compensation and public apology on recall school board petitions theft

(SAN FRANCISCO) After two-year criminal and civil legal proceedings, volunteer parent Kit Lam's fighting for justice on the recall school petition stealing incident has come to a conclusion by accepting $1 compensation and a public apology published in three local newspapers in San Francisco.

Three local newspapers include Wind Newspaper, an English and Chinese bilingual weekly which was the first news media to report the theft incident in 2021, Bay Area Reporter, a weekly newspaper serving the LGBTQ community and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The public apology published in three newspapers is all in English and Chinese bilingual.

"These three newspapers serve a large number of the community members in San Francisco," Lam said on June 7 when he signed the settlement in front of his attorney John Roach.

The defendant in the civil suit was Jason Kruta who was seen by Lam for stealing the recall school board petition with signatures from Lam's petition drive at the Richmond Farmers Market in May 2021. Lam filed a police report on the theft. Kruta was arrested in September 2021.

In April 2022, Lam filed a civil lawsuit at the San Francisco Superior Court under the pro bono service by attorney Roach against Kruta for violating his constitutional right to gather signatures for the recall petition and causing him emotional distress.

According to Lam, Kruta had never showed up at the court hearings for his criminal case which ended with a diversion program. In the civil case, Lam and Kruta reached a settlement on June 7 by Kruta offering $1 compensation and taking out a public apology in three local newspapers.

"From the beginning I decided to file a police report and a civil lawsuit, it was not about money. What I wanted was to find out the truth," said Lam.

Lam, who is an immigrant and a registered Democrat, has a daughter and a son in San Francisco public schools. Lam said he volunteered for the recall for his kids and public school students in San Francisco as they were suffering both from learning loss and tremendous emotional harm during school closure in the pandemic. He collected over 12,000 signatures to help the recall school board campaign to qualify for the ballot.

Lam was credited as a hero to make the recall election passed by San Francisco voters and the outcome had made history which became national news. All three former school board members were recalled by the voters with an overwhelming margins.

During the petitions to gather voters' signatures to qualify for the recall election, Lam started a petition drive at the Richmond Farmers Market every Sunday morning. Lam remembered those days he always needed to face challenges of being interrupted by some individuals who tried to stop him getting the signatures.

Lam said that he believed it was not only about one person Kruta, there should be more people involved as a plan. In the civil legal proceedings, some individuals were subpoenaed to answer questions in the depositions.

“This lawsuit was never about money but uncovering the truth of whether there was a collaboration between Kruta and others to subvert the democratic process. Democracy is fragile. When I experienced and witnessed anti-democratic behavior and subsequently had my constitutional rights violated, I knew I must stand up for my rights and seek justice," Lam added.

Lam also thanked Roach for his generosity and offering a great professional legal service representing him in the civil lawsuit.

Roach is practicing in San Francisco and specializes in personal injury lawsuits. Roach was not only providing a pro bono service, he also paid all the fees for Lam in the entire proceedings.

“Article II of the California Constitution grants the people of California the power to recall and remove elected officials. Whether you agree or disagree with the merits of the school board recall, we should all agree stealing petitions is a subversion of the democratic process itself and must be condemned in the strongest possible way," said Roach.

Roach, whose wife's family was from Hong Kong, is a parent and has paid attention to the public school system in San Francisco. He learned about the stealing petition incident from Lam's tweets on social media and decided to reach out to him for offering the pro bono service.

Roach was pleased to see the settlement reach and bring the matter to an end.

"I am pleased to advise you that the matter has been amicably concluded," commented by Clifford Hirsch who represented Kruta in the civil lawsuit filed by Lam.