The fight over the future of Charlottesville’s Confederate monuments led to the violent “Unite the Right” rally two years ago. Now, the same dispute has given rise to a First Amendment battle over a magazine article about supporters of the ...

Tagged with: Defamation First Amendment Free Speech

Actor Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, his ex-wife, can be tried in Fairfax County, even though neither of the parties has any personal connection to the locale, a Virginia circuit judge ruled. The star of the “Pirates of ...

Tagged with: Defamation Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Bruce D. White

Two publications purporting to reveal widespread voter fraud have given rise to a viable lawsuit. The published materials (called Alien Invasion I and II) allegedly reported falsely that specific individuals, identified by name and other personal information, had registered and/or voted illegally in ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Defamation Elections Judge Liam O'Grady Personal Injury Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A woman and her mother sufficiently alleged defamation by a Golden Corral server, who publicly accused them of hiding food in their purses. But the court dismissed their claim for contract interference on account of their race and also struck ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Civil Rights Defamation Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Based on her responsibilities as set forth in the Virginia Code, a school board’s Director of Budget & Finance was a “public official” who had to show actual malice to prove that a TV news station defamed her. She failed ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Defamation Employment First Amendment Judge Henry F. Floyd Personal Injury Tort

Under clearly established law, publication of public safety officers’ allegedly defamatory termination letters to the media before holding a name-clearing hearing supported the officers’ claims of due process violations. Background During the summer of 2014, Officers with the Bald Head ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Defamation Due Process First Amendment Fourteenth Amendment Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Tort

A Yelp reviewer who successfully defended against defamation claims couldn’t claim attorneys’ fees under Va. Code § 8.01-223.2 because 2017 amendments weren’t retroactive, a Virginia circuit court held. Background Defendant Jeremiah Jones retained Plaintiff Will Nesbitt Realty LLC to assist him in renting a ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Business Law Civil Practice Contract Defamation Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

Plaintiff alleged in a complaint filed pursuant to the Virginia Torts Claims Act that a report published online by a state agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia in March 2013 defamed her. The jury found that the defendant had committed ...

Tagged with: Defamation Judge Bradley B. Cavedo Richmond Circuit Court Verdict

A high school principal stung by a critical comment in a local newspaper lost her multi-million-dollar libel suit this spring when a judge ruled the published statements were not defamatory. The quick end to the suit was a win for ...

Tagged with: Defamation Giles County Circuit Court Judge Robert M.D. Turk

A man sued by his business partner for defamation could call on his homeowners insurance policy for a defense in the suit, a Richmond U.S. District Court said on Nov. 24. “Business” exclusions in the homeowners and umbrella policies issued ...

Tagged with: Defamation Federal Courts Insurance Judge Henry E. Hudson