LR5 teacher, others subpoenaed in board member’s Facebook defamation lawsuit
Nine people, including at least one teacher, have been subpoenaed to give depositions in a lawsuit filed by a Lexington-Richland 5 school board member against two constituents who criticized him on Facebook, according to attorneys.
The nine are scheduled to be deposed — answer questions under oath in the case — by an attorney for school board vice chair Ken Loveless on April 21, according to an attorney representing one of the defendants. Loveless has sued two constituents because of what he says are libelous statements made about him on social media.
Attorney Tucker Player, who is representing three of the people subpoenaed, said he had not received any indication of what questions Loveless’ lawyer will be asking in the depositions. But he called the subpoenas a “fishing expedition” seeking to uncover more information to buttress what Player characterized as a fallacious lawsuit.
“This is a public official who has sued people for complaining about how he does his job,” Player said. “This was on a public forum where people made complaints about the school district they pay for, and he sued to shut it down.”
Loveless, the vice chair of the Lexington-Richland 5 school board, is suing the two school district constituents who made comments that Loveless said are defamatory in a Facebook group. Loveless claims Kevin Scully and Leslie Stiles spread false information about him in an attempt to harm his reputation. The suit against Stiles led her to freeze posting and commenting on her page Deep Dive Into D5.
“We do not believe Mr. Loveless is entitled to win this case,” said attorney Drew Radeker, who is representing Scully, the husband of a Lexington-Richland 5 teacher. “It seems to have been brought to try to silence his critics.”
Player is representing Chapin High School teacher Mary Wood. He said he’s befriended teachers from his time coaching mock trials at Chapin and Spring Hill high schools, and he agreed to sit with them through the depositions free of charge.
“That’s who my sympathies are with,” Player said. “My sympathies are with the teachers, not the board.”
The date of the depositions is a school day, which leaves him with some trepidation about how the subpoena will disrupt education plans.
Loveless attorney Desa Ballard declined to comment on the case to The State.
.jpg)