Todd & Weld Attorneys Howard Cooper and Charlotte Bednar Secure Massachusetts Appeals Court Victory in Defamation Case
Todd & Weld is pleased to announce a significant victory in the Massachusetts Appeals Court, which affirmed the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit brought against former Malden City Councilor Neil Kinnon.
The case, Lucey v. Kinnon (No. 24-P-968), centered on a series of interactions on a local Facebook political forum. The plaintiff, attorney Scott Lucey, alleged that Mr. Kinnon defamed him by suggesting in a post that "someone must have taken the Bar exam for [him]." Todd & Weld attorneys Howard M. Cooper and Charlotte L. Bednar successfully argued that the statement was not an assertion of fact but rather "rhetorical hyperbole" protected under the First Amendment.
The Ruling: Rhetorical Hyperbole vs. Factual Assertion
In its December 15, 2025, decision, the Appeals Court affirmed the ruling of Superior Court Justice John P. Pappas, holding that no reasonable person reading the exchange in context would have understood the jab to be a statement of actual fact.
Appeals Court Justice John C. Englander, writing for the panel, noted that the exchange had devolved into a back-and-forth of insults between the parties. The court found that the "someone must have taken the Bar exam for you" comment was part of a chain of rhetorical barbs designed to insult rather than convey serious factual claims. The court even highlighted the plaintiff’s own humorous response to the post as evidence that the statement was not taken as a literal factual assertion.
Navigating the "Anti-SLAPP" Question
The litigation also raised what the court called a "pretty interesting question" regarding the scope of the Massachusetts anti-SLAPP law (G. L. c. 231, § 59H). Mr. Kinnon had originally moved to dismiss the suit under the statute, arguing the comments were made in connection with his right to petition regarding a local zoning matter.
While the Appeals Court ultimately declined to apply anti-SLAPP protections—finding that the parties had "veered off course" from government-focused petitioning into personal insults—the successful dismissal on First Amendment grounds represents a complete victory for Mr. Kinnon, terminating over two years of litigation.
Expertise in Media and Defamation Law
"This decision reinforces the critical distinction between actionable defamation and the kind of rhetorical hyperbole that is a frequent, if sharp, component of public discourse," said Howard M. Cooper, a founding partner at Todd & Weld. "We are pleased the court recognized that such online exchanges do not constitute the basis for a defamation claim." Todd & Weld’s Media, First Amendment, and Defamation Law practice group regularly represents individuals and organizations in high-stakes litigation involving free speech, reputation management, and anti-SLAPP defense.