A phony email sent in 2011 to one person alleged a Warren County township trustee was demanding bribes. The email resurfaced years later.
When a person’s reputation is harmed by a secretive or concealed message, a defamation lawsuit can be pursued within one year after discovering the harmful statement, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today.
A Supreme Court majority held the “discovery rule,” which has been applied to victims of asbestos exposure and medical malpractice, applies to defamatory statements that are secretive, concealed, or otherwise inherently unknowable due to the nature of the publication. The decision arose from a phony email created in 2011 that was sent to one person alleging a Warren County township trustee was demanding bribes. That email resurfaced in 2019 and led to a state auditor investigation of the trustee.
Writing for the Court majority, Justice Michael P. Donnelly stated that the one-year statute of limitations for filing a defamation lawsuit should not apply to the date a real estate developer sent a private email to defame Sycamore Township Trustee Thomas Weidman. Rather, the discovery rule starts the statute of limitations at the time when Weidman could reasonably discover the statement.
“Use of the discovery rule eases the unconscionable result to innocent victims who by exercising the highest degree of care could not have discovered the cited wrong,” Justice Donnelly wrote, quoting the 1983 Supreme Court Oliver v. Kaiser Community Health Found. decision.
Today’s decision affirmed a Twelfth District Court of Appeals ruling.
Justices Melody Stewart and Jennifer Brunner joined Justice Donnelly’s opinion. Sixth District Court of Appeals Judge Christine Mayle, sitting for Justice Joseph T. Deters, also joined the opinion. Judge Mayle also wrote a separate concurring opinion.
Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy dissented, stating Ohio has had a one-year statute of limitations for the two forms of defamation — slander and libel — for more than 170 years. She wrote through “judicial activism,” the majority has added a discovery rule to defamation claims. She noted that State lawmakers, not the Court, are responsible for extending this rule to defamation lawsuits.
Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Kristy S. Wilkin, sitting for Justice R. Patrick DeWine, wrote a separate dissenting opinion. Judge Wilkin argued that while only legislature can apply discovery rules to lawsuit statutes of limitations, each time an email is resent it triggers another one-year period for filing suit.
In 2011, Cincinnati-based real estate developer Christopher Hildebrant facilitated property sales involving SDI Foods and Sycamore Township trustees including Weidman. Hildebrant claimed both Roberts from SDI Foods and Weidman wanted kickbacks from his consulting fee and created an email falsely implicating Weidman in bribery as leverage against Roberts.
The fake email remained private until 2019 when Hildebrant sought land from Sycamore Township but faced opposition from Weidman still serving as trustee. In January 2020 during discussions with other township officials about this deal's failure due to alleged kickback demands by Weidman based on past dealings involving SDI Foods; Hildebrant revealed this old fabricated incriminating email leading eventually towards state auditor investigations whereupon finally revealing it unto Weidman's knowledge in November same year followed subsequently by legal actions initiated February next year citing defamatory injuries sustained thereof per justifiable claims acknowledged thusly hereinabove stated judicial pronouncements enunciated forthwith accordingly thereof thereafter upon hearing supreme appellate considerations granted therein duly adjudicated pronounced conclusively henceforth hereto therefore remit procedural continuations further proceedings trial courts' determinations pertinent necessary requisite forthwith pending accordingly determinative evaluations warranted thereby consequentially finalizing judicious resolutions conformably 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