Tim Anderson's criticism of Sen. Louise Lucas is not defamation, judge rules

PORTSMOUTH — A judge in Portsmouth Circuit Court has dismissed State Sen. Louise Lucas’ - (D) defamation lawsuit against Tim Anderson, a Virginia Beach attorney who started an effort to recall Lucas and said she was to blame for a crowd’s vandalism of the city’s Confederate monument.

Court documents show there wasn’t much dispute over what Lucas or Anderson said leading up to or after a June 10, 2020, protest that culminated in the monument’s damage — it came down to whether Anderson’s statements were “defamatory falsehood” with “actual malice.”

William Hurd, Anderson’s attorney, pointed to the Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan, which sets a high bar for defamation of public officials. The judge agreed that the case sets a standard that Lucas’ accusations did not meet and dismissed the suit Wednesday.

During the protest, a crowd painted and took sledgehammers to Portsmouth’s downtown Confederate monument. The crowd pulled down one of the monument’s statues, which fell on top of a man and badly injured him.

Read more: https://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/vp-nw-lucas-anderson-defamation-dismissed-20210730-supijq7xyrhgnjmv5lao2parvy-story.html
(Newport News Daily Press)