District 35 Councilman Dave Rosenberg has prevailed in full against a $300,000.00 defamation lawsuit filed by failed Tennessee House candidate and former District 35 challenger Michelle Foreman, a judge has ruled.  The ruling marks yet another win for defendants targeted by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation—colloquially known as “SLAPP-suits”—since the General Assembly enacted the Tennessee Public Participation Act (TPPA) in 2019.

“Councilman Rosenberg has been fully vindicated, and the consequences of filing this abusive litigation will be severe,” said Horwitz Law, PLLC principal Daniel A. Horwitz, who represented Councilman Rosenberg alongside Horwitz Law PLLC attorneys Lindsay Smith and Melissa K. Dix and attorneys Jamie Hollin and Sarah Martin.  “Failed, thin-skinned politicians who believe that the solution to their unpopularity is to file bogus defamation claims against their critics should take heed.”

The lawsuit arose from statements made in a constituent newsletter to the effect that Foreman—then a Tennessee House candidate—was “a COVID denier, anti-vaccine, supports Jan. 6 and election conspiracy theories, and is a pathological liar.”  As Councilman Rosenberg’s TPPA Petition detailed at length, though, those statements concerned a public figure, they were well-supported, and they were constitutionally protected opinions regardless.  Thus, the TPPA’s burden-shifting framework required Foreman to come forward with admissible evidence supporting each essential element of her asserted claim, including proving falsity, malice, and that she suffered reputational harm.

Ms. Foreman failed to muster proof of any of the elements of her defamation claim in response to Councilman Rosenberg’s TPPA petition, though.  “Accordingly, the Court ORDERS that the Defendant’s Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-104(a) Petition to Dismiss is GRANTED, and that the Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-105(e),” ruled Eighth Circuit Judge Lynne T. Ingram.  Councilman Rosenberg was also awarded his attorney’s fees, and the court will consider whether to sanction Ms. Foreman at a future hearing.

Rosenberg’s win follows a string of earlier TPPA victories against defamation lawsuits filed by failed politicians.  In December 2022, for example, conservative commentator and Horwitz Law, PLLC client Candace Owens prevailed in a $20 million SLAPP-suit filed by failed congressional candidate Kim Klacik, who was ordered to pay Ms. Owens $115,000.00 for filing the suit.  Before that, in an effort to circumvent an anti-SLAPP judgment, a Goodlettsville Congressional Candidate withdrew a SLAPP-suit filed against three activists who criticized him mere days after Horwitz Law, PLLC’s attorneys appeared on their behalf.  Selected case documents from Rosenberg’s win are linked below.

Case Documents:

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Horwitz Law, PLLC has successfully defended clients against multiple multimillion-dollar libel, slander, false light, and other speech-based lawsuits in Tennessee’s state and federal courts.  Clients represented by Horwitz Law have avoided tens of millions of dollars’ worth of threatened liability and frequently recovered some or all of their attorney’s fees against the people who baselessly sued them.  If you are seeking speech defense, anti-SLAPP, or First Amendment representation, you can purchase a consultation from Horwitz Law here.