Former Little Rock School Board president Melanie Fox's defamation lawsuit against education blogger Elizabeth Lyon will be decided at trial, a Pulaski County Circuit judge ruled Thursday, rejecting Lyon's arguments that the case should be dismissed.
The one-page decision by Judge Mackie Pierce also spurned Lyon's assertion that Fox is a public figure, an important distinction because a public figure, like a celebrity or politician, who claims to be slandered must show that any defamatory statements were made with "absolute malice" or "with a reckless disregard for the truth," which is a higher standard than a regular person would have to prove.
The judge's ruling comes one day after Fox's attorney, John Tull, told the judge that he could prove both malice and disregard through statements Lyon had made under oath during deposition questioning.
Tull said Lyon's blog assertions about Fox were based on a 13-year-old post on the Arkansas Times blog that actually contradicted Lyon's accusations. Further, Lyon claimed to have three sources for her accusations against Fox but, while being questioned under oath, said she only had one source but could not remember who it was, Tull said.
At that one-hour hearing, Lyon's lawyer, Luther Sutter, argued that the suit should be dismissed for lack of evidence because Fox, as a former elected school board trustee and an ex-member of a school advisory committee, could not present sufficient proof to show that her reputation had suffered because of Lyon's writings.
In a January 2020 post on Lyon's Orchestrating Change blog, Lyon accused Fox of deliberately lying about her business dealings with the school district.
The lawsuit describes Lyon's blog writings as an attempt at character assassination by trying to portray Fox as a racist who associates with thieves and sexual predators. The post, which has since been removed, further accused Fox and her husband of improper business dealings with the school district during her school board tenure.
The judge's ruling is another setback for Lyon during the 4 1/2-month course of the defamation and false-light invasion of privacy suit, which was filed in March.
Pierce has rejected an earlier dismissal argument and ruled that Lyon is not entitled to protections afforded by Arkansas journalism shield law. He ordered her to reveal under oath her sources for her blog writings, at least four individuals Lyon had tried to keep anonymous. The judge further ordered her to pay some of Fox's legal expenses and is considering making her pay more of Fox's legal costs
Lyon also faces another defamation suit brought by Henderson Middle School Principal Yaa Appeiah McNulty over four posts written between March 2019 and May 2019.