Motions to dismiss in a defamation case against the Kentucky Democratic Party and Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport) in Campbell County Circuit Court have been overruled, meaning certain parts of the case will move forward, according to court documents filed Oct. 4.
Former Northern Kentucky statehouse candidate Jerry Gearding, who lost to Roberts in the 67th District in 2022, filed the suit in July over campaign materials he said aren’t true and have damaged his reputation.
The lawsuit accuses the Kentucky Democratic Party and Roberts of sending out campaign materials ahead of the Nov. 8, 2022 election “founded in false and malicious written and verbal statements regarding Gearding.” It also accuses the state party chair, Colmon Elridge, of defaming him in a tweet ahead of the election.
The materials highlighted Gearding’s alleged arrest record for domestic violence, a DUI arrest, a disorderly conduct arrest, and bankruptcy that the party published on jerryforjail.com.
Roberts filed motions to dismiss in August relating to two advertisements Gearding said defamed him. The first stated that Gearding has a history of domestic violence and that Roberts “works tirelessly in protecting women and victims of violent crimes from people like Jailbird Jerry Gearding.”
Judge Julie Reinhardt Ward’s Oct. 4 order says that neither statement is defamatory because Gearding has a criminal history that includes two arrests for domestic violence and that Roberts is giving an opinion based upon true facts that were disclosed to the reader.
That motion was sustained, meaning that the accusation is dismissed.
But the second motion, relating to the advertisement that mentions Gearding’s “arrest record and pattern of behavior for … child endangerment,” was overruled, meaning the defamation case regarding that particular statement can go forward. Ward called the statement of particular concern because Gearding has never been arrested for, pled guilty to, or been charged with child endangerment.
“We are pleased that the court recognized that a significant portion of the suit against Rachel was completely baseless and are confident the remainder of the suit against her will be rejected once we present the court with additional evidence,” said attorney Jeff Mando in a statement. “We will exercise all available rights and remedies to show that the remaining part of the suit against Rachel is frivolous and nothing more than an attempt to intimidate and silence her from speaking out on matters of public concern.”
Gearding also made two claims against the Kentucky Democratic Party – the party filed motions to dismiss both claims. One of those claims was sustained and one was overruled.
The motion to dismiss that was overruled is in regard to a mailer that said Gearding has a history of domestic violence against women, detailing court records quoted in the Cincinnati Enquirer that say a woman filed two protective orders against Gearding citing a danger of domestic violence and abuse.
Next to the verbiage on the mailer is a photo of a woman with facial injuries, the opinion says.
“In miniscule font in the right-hand corner, almost completely unnoticeable, is the text ‘photo depicted is a model, not an actual victim,’” Ward writes in her opinion.
Gearding alleged in the defamation suit that the party should have known that placing a photo of a woman with facial injuries next to the statement about Gearding’s alleged history of domestic violence against women would naturally cause readers to believe that Gearding had inflicted the injuries depicted in the picture.
Taken as a whole, Ward writes, the mailer is defamatory.
Finally, Gearding claims that Elridge defamed him in a tweet that said “Domestic abusers have no place in electoral politics or elected office. Period.” Ward says that Elridge’s statement is pure opinion and does not establish a case for defamation, so Elridge’s motion to dismiss was sustained.
The two advertisements for which motions to dismiss were overruled will now go into the discovery phase, which means that the parties will exchange information about the case, such as witnesses and evidence, that would be presented at trial.
