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Date: 07-14-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 2022CV000229
Judge: David N. Reddy
Court: Circuit Court, Kenosha County, Wisonsin
Plaintiff's Attorney: Terry William Rose, Xavier Solis and Ryan A.W. Dummann
Defendant's Attorney: William F. Sulton
Description: Kenosha, Wisconsin personal Injury lawyer represented Plaintiff who sued Defendants on a defamation theory.
Kevin Matthewson, a former alder and blogger, sued Raymond Roberts on a defamation theory claiming that Roberts used social media to repeatedly describe him as a racist with white nationalist connections. He claimed that the posts endangered his family by pushing his address.
Defendant claimed that what he said about the Plaintiff was true.
Defamation is a tort that occurs when someone makes a false statement about another person that damages their reputation. In Wisconsin, defamation is divided into two categories: libel and slander.
Libel is defamation that is published in writing or in some other permanent form, such as a photograph or a recording.
Slander is defamation that is spoken or communicated orally.
In order for a statement to be defamatory, it must meet the following criteria:
It must be false.
It must be published to a third party.
It must be capable of harming the person's reputation.
If a statement meets all of these criteria, the person who made the statement may be liable for defamation. However, there are a few defenses to defamation, such as truth, privilege, and fair comment.
The truth defense is the most common defense to defamation. If the statement that was made was true, then the person who made the statement cannot be held liable for defamation.
Privilege is another defense to defamation. Privilege exists when the person who made the statement had a legal or social obligation to make the statement. For example, a police officer who makes a statement about a crime that was committed is protected by privilege.
Fair comment is a defense to defamation that allows people to make critical statements about public figures. In order for fair comment to apply, the statement must be based on facts that are known to the public and the statement must be made in good faith.
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Outcome: Defendant's verdict.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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