Lafayette city government’s lawsuit to recover first-responder costs stemming from a comedian’s posting of fake antifa events on social media can proceed as a result of a recent state appeals court decision.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeal turned down an attempt by satirist John Merrifield to have the lawsuit by the Lafayette Consolidated Government and Mayor-President Josh Guillory thrown out. The local government is attempting to recoup police-response costs after Merrifield’s posts about fake antifa events at a local mall drew concerns from residents.
The appeals court opinion backed a ruling last year by the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette. “We find no error in the trial court’s ruling,” the appeals court said in denying the dismissal request.
Andrew D. Bizer
| bizerlaw.com
Merrifield’s attorney, however, said his client would appeal the March 17 ruling to the Louisiana Supreme Court, noting that the Third Circuit offered no explanation of its reasoning.
“It is disappointing that the trial judge and the Third Circuit ruled the way they did,” New Orleans attorney Andrew Bizer told the Louisiana Record. “But I am confident the Supreme Court will do the right thing.”
Bizer called Lafayette’s litigation against Merrifield, a former Louisiana resident who now lives in New York, vindictive and frivolous. Merrifield’s filings to strike the lawsuit are based on the state’s anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) law, which protects communicators from malicious lawsuits aimed at denying them their rights to petition or speak freely.
Lafayette is seeking damages totaling less than $75,000 from Merrifield as a result of the local government’s public-safety response to the fake events. But Bizer said the local government’s litigation is incorrectly based on criminal law and that the first-responders’ actions were not imminent in nature.
“They knew the fake events were coming days in advance,” Bizer said.
The appeal to the state Supreme Court will be filed in April, he said, and will be followed by the city’s response to it.