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Utah Supreme Court Hears Defamation Appeal Over Online Posts; Justices Question Scope of Anti‑SLAPP Protection
Summary
The Utah Supreme Court heard arguments in Matthews v. McCown, an appeal alleging a years‑long defamatory online campaign tied to a local incorporation fight and raising whether anti‑SLAPP protections and pleading standards bar the suit. The court took the case under advisement.
The Utah Supreme Court heard oral argument in Matthews v. McCown on claims that community members ran a coordinated defamatory messaging campaign after a local incorporation dispute, with counsel and several justices debating whether the statements were factual, opinion, or protected participation under Utah's anti‑SLAPP statute.
Appellants' counsel Janet Conley told the court that Kyle Matthews and Ryan Sorensen "have been harmed and they're trying to protect themselves from continued harm, from the defamatory messaging campaign spearheaded by Higgins, Nielsen, and McCown." She traced the history to a feasibility petition and a December 2020 lawsuit that was dismissed, then said defendants circulated that dismissed complaint in December 2021 and continued online postings that injured her clients' reputations.
Defense counsel disputed the complaint's legal sufficiency and, for some defendants, invoked the…
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