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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Deset Gled" data-source="post: 8833855" data-attributes="member: 7808">You may recall that Lanasa also sued Tenkar ([USER=15047]@tenkar[/USER]) for defamation and libel in September.  Well, Tenkar's lawyer has officially filed a response to LaNasa's civil suit.  And dang does it deliver.  The short summary is that Tenkar is making a motion to dismiss for all the reasons you would expect: Tenkar was telling the truth, Lanasa is a public figure (which creates a much higher standard for slander and defamation that Lanasa really can't meet), and Lanasa failed to properly ask for damages.  There's a bonus defense in there as well, basically saying that Lanasa's reputation is already so terrible it's impossible to defame him.  Tenkar's lawyer also mentions New York's anti-SLAPP laws, but has not formally filed a claim under that law AFAICT.I won't post the full text, because it contains some colorful language between the two parties (PM me if you want a copy).  But here are some highlights (emphasis mine):-----This lawsuit stems from Plaintiff Lanasa’s conscious involvement in public controversy (e.g.,as a public figure repeatedly running for public office), engagement in myriad forms of inappropriateconduct, and invitation attention from the public and Defendant (e.g., by publicly harassing Defendantand, upon information and belief, mailing feces to Defendant’s home). Such conduct by PlaintiffLanasa also includes distribution of reprehensible racist materials, open affiliation with individualswho publicly disseminate vile pro-Nazi and white supremacist materials, and other forms of conductthat we respectfully submit render Plaintiffs defamation-proof. Naturally, the internet is replete withcriticism of Plaintiff Lanasa’s conduct, a small portion of which comprises criticism of Plaintiffs byDefendant. Although Defendant has endured extensive and patently-actionable misconduct byPlaintiffs, Defendant would prefer to refrain from burdening the Court with disagreements betweenthe parties, move to dismiss this meritless action with prejudice, and get on with his life.----------DEFAMATIONPlaintiffs’ defamation claims fall within New York’s recently-amended anti-SLAPP law,(2) andbecause Plaintiff Lanasa is, at minimum, a limited-purpose public figure, Plaintiffs must plausiblyallege Defendant acted with actual malice to sustain their claim.(3) A defamation complaint “us[ing]actual-malice buzzwords” that are not “backed by well-pled facts” cannot survive a motion to dismiss. (4)Plaintiffs’ defamation per se claims, e.g., one passing reference to “criminal history” also do notconstitute any of the “four types of statements . . . per se actionable under New York law: those that‘imput[e] unchastity to a woman,’ assert that a plaintiff has a ‘loathsome disease,’ tend to injure him inhis profession, or charge a plaintiff with a serious crime.” (5) Statements that “fail to portray . . . a seriouscrime” are not “per se actionable.”(6) Because Plaintiffs have failed to plead any facts that, even if true,could establish Defendant made any statement about any Plaintiff that was defamatory, known to befalse, and/or made while entertaining serious doubts regarding its truth, Plaintiffs defamation claimsmust be dismissed.(7) “Truth” is also “an absolute defense to an action based on defamation.” (8) To theextent Plaintiff Lanasa attempts to characterize a passing reference to “criminal history” asdefamatory, Defendant avers, upon information and belief, that Plaintiff Lanasa has been convictedof at least one crime. Finally, Defendant plans to invoke “the libel-proof plaintiff doctrine,” whichapplies when “there is little or no harm to a plaintiff’s already low reputation,” in which case, “theclaim should be dismissed.”-----As for future activity on this suit, Tenkar's lawyer proposes a schedule that would see more paperwork be filed in December, with the next (first?) hearing with the judge on Jan 23, 2023.</blockquote>

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