MILLARD COUNTY, Utah — A Utah judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against a weekly Utah newspaper.
The judge said a 2023 law protecting First Amendment activities applies to the Millard County Chronicle Progress. But Judge Anthony Howell, in a 46-page ruling, also repeatedly pointed out how the plaintiff didn’t dispute many facts reported by the newspaper.
“…Plaintiffs have failed to show that any of the Articles were defamatory and not subject to privilege,” Howell wrote in his ruling.
Businessman Wayne Aston had sued the Millard County Chronicle Progress after it reported on his proposal to manufacture modular homes next to the Fillmore airport and the public funding he sought for infrastructure improvements benefiting the project. Aston’s suit contended the Chronicle Progress published “false and defamatory statements.”
The suit asked for “not less” than $19.2 million.
In its dismissal motion, attorneys for the newspaper said the reporting was accurate and protected by a statute the Utah Legislature created in 2023 to safeguard public expression and other First Amendment activities.
“This case is a retaliatory lawsuit brought by a litigious real estate developer,” the defense brief said, “who seeks to silence the voice of the small-town newspaper that dared report on his efforts to convince Fillmore city to help him raise hundreds of millions of dollars….”