The executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates dismissed the commission's decision to buy out of the lawsuit as "an isolated incident" that will have no effect on commission activities.

Nader sued the commission under Massachusetts civil rights law for excluding him from a televised viewing of a presidential debate in an auditorium on the University of Massachusetts campus. The suit maintained he was discriminated against because of his political views and was prevented from giving interviews on campus.

Nader said under the settlement, the commission agreed to pay $25,000, and a security consultant for the commission will pay slightly more than $25,000. The payments from their insurance firms - not from commission funds - goes to Nader's lawyers and to pay legal costs, those on both sides said.

Commission officials said the expense of the lawsuit had become too much to bear for a nonprofit operation like the commission, which had fought it for more than a year.

It will have no effect on future commission decisions, said Janet Brown, the executive director. "The lawsuit was brought regarding an isolated incident on the University of Massachusetts campus, and it has no effect on our ongoing operations."

Nader disagreed. "It's clear that this victory will make the debate commission think twice before they do this in the future to any third-party presidential candidate who has a valid ticket to see the proceedings either in the debate auditorium or an auxiliary building," he said.

The commission had excluded Nader and several other third-party candidates from participating in the debate because he lacked the required minimum of 15 percent support in opinion polls.

Brown said the commission considers requirements for participation separately before each presidential election. The rules are intended to limit debates in the closing weeks to those who have legitimate chances to win the election, she said.

"The point of the debates is not to jump-start an individual's campaign," she said.

Nader's attorney, Howard Friedman of Boston, said the commission "had no business telling him where to stand. ... He had a right to be on the campus."

The commission's attorney, Andrew Marks of Washington, said, "There was no evidence developed to support Nader's claims," and the lawsuit was settled "for a token amount to avoid the cost of trial."

A federal district judge dismissed several of Nader's claims in February but refused to dismiss the suit.

The commission, an independent nonprofit organization led by two former Republican and Democratic party chairmen, began sponsoring presidential debates in 1988.

Nader called it "a bipartisan commission that says it is nonpartisan." Brown countered that the commission is nonpartisan, with a board comprising people from both major parties as well as independents.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press

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