Former ‘GH’ Actor Seeks Dismissal of Subpoena Against Non-Profit Group
Former ‘General Hospital’ actor Ingo Rademacher – who was fired in 2021 after 25 years with the show for opposing the network’s directive to get a coronavirus shot – is asking a judge to to overturn a network subpoena requesting records from a nonprofit group, allegedly to see if the organization is funding his case.
Rademacher’s new petition, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks the quashing of a subpoena on the protection of children’s education rights. PERK’s website says it is a grassroots organization dedicated to empowering parents and educators to take an active role in education-centered legislation.
Rademacher, 50, sued ABC on Dec. 13, claiming he was denied a religious exemption to get the shot after an interview in which the network had an attorney present, but the actor saw himself refuse the same opportunity.
When ABC decided to recognize exemptions to its vaccine mandate, it had to honor them all, and Rademacher’s right to medical confidentiality was also violated, the suit says. In addition to asking a judge to declare the ABC vaccine mandate unconstitutional, Rademacher is seeking compensatory damages.
ABC’s subpoena seeks confidential communications and attorney’s work product between Rademacher, his attorney, and “a speculative backer,” which do nothing to prove the actor’s claims or the network’s defenses, according to court documents from Rademacher’s lawyers.
“The subpoena is just a bullying campaign by ABC to harass and pressure Ingo to drop the charges against them,” Rademacher’s attorneys say in their court documents. “As an unfortunate way to gain leverage in this action, ABC proceeded to intentionally harass every person Ingo might have spoken to over the past five years to destroy Ingo’s character and determine how someone could afford to bring such a case against ABC.
The network is not entitled to sensitive and private information unrelated to Rademacher’s claims of right to privacy and unlawful discrimination, through subpoena or otherwise, and ABC is not also not allowed to know if any person or entity is funding his lawsuit, according to the actor’s attorneys. ‘ court documents.
In an affidavit, Rademacher says he and PERK had discussions with and without his lawyer present. He further says that he expected any discussion with PERK to remain confidential.
“Disclosure of this information — any communications or information provided to PERK — is an improper intrusion on my constitutional rights to privacy and the attorney-client relationship,” Rademacher said. “Whether or not I obtain litigation funding for this case, such a decision and the information surrounding it is my own prerogative and a private matter.”
A hearing on Rademacher’s motion to quash the subpoena is scheduled for September 8 before Judge Stephen Goorvitch.
Rademacher portrayed the character of tycoon Jasper “Jax” Jacks in “General Hospital.” He is a board member of Heal the Bay, an environmental organization based in Santa Monica.