Cape & Islands News

Defamation suit filed against CC Today blogger, commenter

Defamation lawsuit filed against Cape Cod Today blogger, commenter

By James Kinsella

A Barnstable resident and his attorney have sued investigative blogger Peter Robbins and an anonymous commenter for defamation.

In a case filed in Barnstable Superior Court, Joseph F. Dugas of Sunset Lane and his attorney, Paul Revere III of Centerville stated that in the wake of a March 11 posting by Robbins on Cape Cod Today and a subsequent comment by a person writing under the name of "noggin," Dugas and Revere had "suffered damage to their reputations, businesses and employment, and sustained emotional distress."

Dugas and Revere are seeking a trial by jury and compensatory damages.

A legal memorandum in response, filed with the court by attorney Peter B. Morin on behalf of Robbins, states, "This matter is a textbook example of the justification for an anti-SLAPP statute that protects the right of individuals to comment on matters of significant public concern."

Dugas and Revere are suing Robbins and the commenter, which the lawsuit identifies as "John Doe," for a blog that the lawsuit states Robbins posted around March 11 about Barnstable Harbor, and for a subsequent comment about that post.

Blog took issue with dredging appeal

In the blog, Robbins criticized a group of residents who had appealed a order of conditions issued by the Town of Barnstable Conservation Commission, and gone on to appeal a superseding order of conditions issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The orders set conditions for the town's planned dredging of Barnstable Harbor.
"In my opinion this, NIMBY, frivolous, malicious action is doing nothing but stalling the inevitable and costing us the taxpayers unnecessary time and money," Robbins wrote.

"....So when you run aground this summer, or bend that prop trying to get in or out of Barnstable Harbor at low tide," he wrote, "these are the people who are costing you..."

He went on to name the people who had backed the appeal, among whom were Dugas.

The defamation lawsuit states the residents who filed the appeal acted in good faith over concerns about the dredging. The lawsuit also faulted Robbins and the commenter over words the plaintiffs said were used to describe Dugas and Revere.

Speaking of the blog and subsequent comment, the lawsuit states: "The statements are false and were published in writing. The written publication of untrue statements by each of the defendants constitutes libel per se. The statements tend to harm the reputations of the plaintiffs as to lower them in the estimation of the community and to deter persons from associating with them."

Dredging settlement reached, defamation lawsuit followed

On March 21, the plaintiffs and residents who had been involved in the dredging appeal settled with the town and the state DEP. Under the settlement agreement, the appeal was dismissed and the dredging was permitted to go forward, subject to the terms of the agreement.

On July 7, the defendants filed their defamation lawsuit against Robbins and the anonymous commenter.

In a memorandum in support of a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Morin states that neither plaintiff has provided factual basis for their claims that they were damaged; that Robbins's blog post is protected by the right of petition; and that a court couldn't conclude that Robbins's opinion lacked factual or legal basis.

Morin further questions why neither Dugas nor Revere revealed to Robbins that the case had been settled 34 days before Revere got in touch with Robbins to complain about the March 11 blog post.

In the memorandum, Morin states that Revere subsequently got in touch with Walter Brooks, publisher of Cape Cod Today, and asked that certain phrases and sentences be deleted from the post. Brooks did so.

Morin's motion to dismiss is scheduled for a hearing in superior court on Sept. 16.