Liberal Lawfare Continues: School Board Member Refiles Complaint Against Conservative Colleagues

Recently, a judge in Spotsylvania sided with our clients, elected School Board members Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie, by effectively dismissing all five counts brought against them by their liberal school board colleague, Nicole Cole. Those claims, asserted against each of them, included 1) Malicious Prosecution, 2) Defamation, 3) Common Law Conspiracy, 4) Statutory Business Conspiracy, and 5) Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, alleging $1 million in damages. Read our case news alert about it HERE.

While the judge’s effective dismissal of all Cole’s legal claims was a decisive victory in our demurrer hearing, the court did allow her 14 days to amend and refile her lawsuit if she chose. We are disappointed to learn that today, on the 14th day, Cole refiled her Complaint, continuing what we believe to be targeted and baseless lawfare against our innocent clients.

The new Complaint, however, did drop the claims of common law conspiracy, statutory business conspiracy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It also dropped malicious prosecution for April Gillespie, and downgraded the defamation per se claim to a lesser form of defamation, which requires Cole to prove actual damages. She also dropped her demand from $1 Million to $500,000.

What does this mean? It means the fight continues, and we are committed to getting justice for Phelps and Gillespie. We strongly believe they are innocent and did nothing wrong. Please pray for them and for our legal team as we continue to defend their rights and their reputation.