A Denver judge has dismissed, with prejudice, key defamation claims brought by Tay Anderson against his primary accusers in the Denver School Board’s investigation of sexual abuse and harassment allegations made against him last year.
Jimmy Sengenberger has the scoop in his recent column in the Denver Gazette, and reports Anderson cannot sue the defendants again on the same issue.
Anderson filed the suit in November against Black Lives Matter 5280 and Mary Katherine Brooks Fleming.
Denver District Court Judge David Goldberg dismissed those claims this week because Anderson can’t prove they acted with malice when they made their claims.
However, Sengenberger reports:
Only one of Anderson’s claims — for defamation against defendant Jeeva Senthilnathan — can move forward. The judge found that Senthilnathan must prove accusations of sexual assault, which she made in public Facebook posts, because they “assert actual fact” and are “capable of being proven true or false.” The judge accepted that actual malice could be proven and emphasized that, unlike BLM5280 and Fleming, Senthilnathan’s statements were made after the investigation concluded.
Bottom line, Tay can’t sue those who made the claims that were reviewed by the school district, but he can sue Senthilnathan who criticized him after the fact on social media.
From Sengenberger:
Tay Anderson has a penchant for abusing the legal system to prove his victimhood. The last time the Denver Public Schools board member tried to use the courts to discredit his district’s investigation — the one that got him censured for “conduct unbecoming a board member” — the judge rebuked his arguments.
Once again, Anderson has failed to prove he is a victim.
PeakNation™ will remember that in addition to the school review that could not substantiate the initial claims, Denver police also conducted their own investigation and sought to prosecute Anderson, but District Attorney Beth McCann blocked police efforts.
PeakNation™ will also remember that McCann is the same prosecutor who refused to prosecute 9News’ former security guard Matthew Dolloff for shooting and killing Lee Keltner at a conservative political rally in 2020.