Defamation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: David Novoselsky v. Dorothy Brown

Case No.: 15-1609

Officials: POSNER, MANION, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Defamation

Allegedly defamatory statements were made as related to respondents official duties.

“We conclude that all of the arguably defamatory communications in this case are protected by this official immunity. First, Brown’s complaint to the ARDC was within the scope of her official duties. Novoselsky’s numerous lawsuits against Brown alleged her dereliction of the office’s responsibilities— failure to segregate court fees into separate bank accounts, failure to audit court funds, and unlawful use of court funds for personal gain. Brown’s complaint focused on these issues and pointed to the Illinois provisions regulating her conduct in each of these areas. To be sure, Brown tested the boundaries of her immunity by remarking in a footnote that Novoselsky is guilty of “racial animus” and citing controversial publications to show the public has an unconscious perception of African Americans as “intellectually and morally inferior.” But taken altogether, the complaint falls within the ambit of Brown’s official duties to oversee the Circuit Court Clerk’s office and to respond to litigation filed against it”

Reversed and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.