Corsi v. Newsmax Media, Inc.

519 F.Supp.3d 1110

Jerome CORSI, Plaintiff,

v.NEWSMAX MEDIA, INC., et al., Defendants.

CASE NO. 20-CV-81396-RAR

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

Signed February 12, 2021

Larry Elliot Klayman, Klayman Law Firm, Boca raton, FL, for Plaintiff.

Dana Jane McElroy, Thomas & LoCicero PL, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Mark A. Lerner, Pro Hac Vice, Duane Morris LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

RODOLFO A. RUIZ II, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This cause is before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss [ECF No. 10] ("Motion") filed by Defendants Newsmax Media, Inc. ("Newsmax"), Christopher Ruddy ("Ruddy"), John Cardillo ("Cardillo"), and John Bachman ("Bachman," and together with Newsmax, Ruddy, and Cardillo, the "Newsmax Defendants").¹ The Court has reviewed the Motion, Plaintiff's Response in Opposition [ECF No. 21], the Newsmax Defendants’ Reply [ECF No. 22], and the record. Being fully advised, it is

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Motion [ECF No. 10 ] is GRANTED . For the reasons set forth herein, this lawsuit, including the claims against Fairbanks, is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE . The Court retains jurisdiction for further proceedings on attorney's fees and costs pursuant to section 768.295(4) of the Florida Statutes. Any pending motions are DENIED as moot .

BACKGROUND

This is a defamation action brought by Plaintiff Jerome Corsi ("Corsi") against each of the Newsmax Defendants and Fairbanks, who has not joined in the Motion. Corsi alleges the Newsmax Defendants and Fairbanks defamed him during a debate between Fairbanks and Corsi's counsel, Larry Klayman ("Klayman"), which aired on January 30, 2019 on Newsmax's "America Talks Live."

A. The Parties

Corsi describes himself as a New York Times bestselling author and political commentator who publishes works in this judicial district and nationwide. Compl. [ECF No. 1-1] ¶ 3. Newsmax is a politically conservative news and media outlet, which operates the website www.newsmax.com, broadcasts news, and publishes daily news articles. Id. ¶ 4. As for the individual Newsmax Defendants, Ruddy is Newsmax's CEO, Bachman is Newsmax's Managing Editor and the host of a Newsmax show called "Newsmax Now," and Cardillo is the host of a Newsmax segment called "America Talks Live." Id. ¶¶ 5–6. Fairbanks is a "political activist" and "journalist" for a media company called The Gateway Pundit. Id. ¶ 7.

B. The Facts

Newsmax regularly airs a segment called "America Talks Live," which is hosted by Cardillo. Id. ¶¶ 6, 21. On January 30, 2019, Klayman (on behalf of Corsi) and Fairbanks appeared on "America Talks Live" for a debate ("Debate") on the topics of WikiLeaks (in particular, Corsi's reporting on WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange) and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ("Mueller") investigation and prosecution of the infamous political operative, Roger Stone ("Stone"). Id. ¶ 21.

During the Debate, Fairbanks made the following allegedly false and defamatory statements about Corsi:

"There are so many things that [ ] Corsi has blatantly lied about ... I confronted him last April in person about the fact that he was reporting false things about WikiLeaks, and he was using my reporting that he plagiarized in order to do so. The fact that anybody is taking him seriously at all is making me completely just, it makes me laugh. It's ridiculous. "

...

"Everything that [Corsi] said was completely absurd. I mean we're talking about somebody who had no even basic understanding of how WikiLeaks works. "

...

"[Corsi] raised money for a cancer patient [with] some false claims for somebody who didn't even exist. Please. He has no credibility.... [Corsi] has never even met the truth. Go look at his reporting. It's a mess. It's outrageous that anyone, let alone Mueller, would take him seriously. This is a clown show. "

Id. ¶¶ 23, 25–26.² Corsi takes issue with three of Fairbanks’ accusations: (i) that Corsi is a liar; (ii) that Corsi plagiarized Fairbanks’ reporting on WikiLeaks; and (iii) that Corsi fraudulently raised money for a non-existent cancer patient. Id. ¶¶ 22–26; see also Resp. at 9.³

C. The Complaint

In his Complaint, Corsi acknowledges that the sole speaker of the allegedly defamatory statements at issue was Fairbanks. Compl. ¶¶ 22–26. Nonetheless, Corsi seeks to hold the Newsmax Defendants liable for Fairbanks’ allegedly defamatory speech. Specifically, Corsi alleges that the Defendants conspired to defame him at the direction of Stone. Id. ¶¶ 8–10, 13, 22–23, 25–26.

In an attempt to lend credibility to his purported conspiracy theory, Corsi offers background regarding his contentious relationship with Stone. For instance, Corsi alleges that:

• He was one of the material witnesses influencing Mueller's decision to indict Stone for the alleged crimes of perjury, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. Id. ¶¶ 15–16.

• Once Stone was indicted, he "began a public relations campaign ... to smear, intimidate and tamper with [Corsi] in order to try to influence his testimony ... at Stone's eventual criminal prosecution trial." Id. ¶ 17.

• And ultimately, "[f]eeling threatened ... by both [Corsi] and [Klayman] ... Stone set out to and did engage in a vicious campaign to defame, threaten and harm both of them." Id.

The Complaint also provides context with respect to the individual Newsmax Defendants. First , Corsi alleges that Cardillo is "close friends with and a personal and professional associate of Stone." Id. ¶ 31. Second , he asserts that Ruddy is "also very friendly with Stone, in part because of their mutual association with President Donald Trump." Id. ¶ 32. Third , Corsi contends that Ruddy and Cardillo "believe that they have to assist Stone in his efforts to defame, discredit, and now severely harm [Corsi] in order to preserve their relationship with President Trump, to whom Stone has served as a top political adviser and lobbyist." Id. ¶ 33. And fourth , he alleges that Bachman "is Defendant Ruddy's ‘right hand man,’ and runs Newsmax in concert with Defendant Ruddy." Id. ¶ 34.

Based solely on those four allegations—coupled with the allegations regarding Corsi's hostile relationship with Stone—Corsi asserts the Newsmax Defendants conspired with Fairbanks to defame him at the direction of, and as agents of, Stone. Corsi contends that the Defendants’ concerted verbal attack "subjected him to hatred, distrust, ridicule, contempt, and disgrace," has harmed his "good will and reputation, as well as financially," and has damaged his "profession and business as a journalist and author" in the amount of $10.5 million. Id. ¶¶ 41–42.

D. Procedural History

On October 23, 2019, Corsi filed a lawsuit (the "2019 Lawsuit") against the Newsmax Defendants, Fairbanks, and Stone in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida. See Corsi v. Newsmax Media, Inc., et al. , Case No. 50-2019-CA-013711. Corsi's 2019 Lawsuit was substantively identical to the instant action—i.e., Corsi brought claims for defamation, defamation per se , and defamation by implication against each of the Defendants. The state court dismissed Corsi's 2019 Lawsuit against the Newsmax Defendants without prejudice due to Corsi's failure to provide the required pre-commencement notice pursuant to section 770.01 of the Florida Statutes. Id. , [ECF No. 81]. The court also granted Stone's motion for summary judgment, and in doing so, made the following findings: (i) Corsi was a public figure; (ii) Fairbanks’ statements during the Debate were not made with actual malice; and (iii) Fairbanks never acted as Stone's agent in relation to her speech during the Debate. Id. , [ECF No. 82]. The state court also entered a default as to Fairbanks after she failed to appear.⁴

Nevertheless, on August 21, 2020, Corsi re-filed the instant Complaint [ECF No. 1-1] against the Newsmax Defendants and Fairbanks, but not Stone, in the same state court. See Corsi v. Newsmax Media, Inc., et al. , Case No. 50-2020-CA-008997. Like the 2019 Lawsuit, the instant Complaint includes several defamation claims against each of the Defendants, for a total of fifteen counts. On August 25, 2020, the Newsmax Defendants removed this action. See Notice of Removal [ECF No. 1].

Subsequently, on September 11, 2020, the Newsmax Defendants filed the instant Motion. In the Motion, the Newsmax Defendants argue that the Complaint should be dismissed on several grounds. Specifically, the Newsmax Defendants contend that Corsi has failed to plausibly plead the elements of his claims; that they are entitled to protection from Corsi's claims under Florida's neutral reporting privilege; and that they are entitled to a mandatory award of fees under Florida's Anti-SLAPP statute. Corsi responded in opposition to the Motion on October 9, 2020 [ECF No. 21] ("Response"), and the Newsmax Defendants replied in support of their Motion on October 16, 2020 [ECF No. 22] ("Reply").

LEGAL STANDARD

To survive a motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), "a complaint must include ‘enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ " Hunt v. Aimco Properties, L.P. , 814 F.3d 1213, 1221 (11th Cir. 2016) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). "A ‘claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’ " Id. (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ). When reviewing a motion to dismiss, a court must view the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and accept the plaintiff's well-pleaded facts as true. Id. However, a court need not accept a plaintiff's legal conclusions as true. See Mack v. Miles , 795 F. App'x 682, 684 (11th Cir. 2019) ; see also Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

Further, when considering a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the court's review...