In 2021, Cory Tomczyk, who is now a Wisconsin State Senator, attended a public meeting which was discussing a resolution regarding diversity and inclusivity. During this meeting, Tomczyk used a homophobic slur against a 13-year-old boy. The Wausau Pilot & Review watched the video of the meeting and interviewed several people who witnessed the event, and then they committed the dastardly deed of reporting the news!
Oh, humanity!
Tomczyk decided to sue the paper for defamation because they accurately reported on his behaviors. He lost that case. So, in an effort to bankrupt the small paper, he appealed the ruling. Earlier this week, he lost again. Judging by the pity party he threw for himself, he didn't take it well:
In a statement this week, Tomcyk said he’s currently reviewing his legal options, adding that the Wausau Pilot had “smeared” his “reputation and name.”
The appeals court “punted” by concluding that Tomczyk counted as public figure in the context of the Community for All debate, the statement said.
“This is an extremely high standard for someone to meet to prove a defamation claim, which allowed the Court of Appeals to avoid deciding whether I ever made the statement attributed to me,” the statement said in part. “The takeaway from this decision is that unsuspecting citizens whose only crime is participating in the democratic process can have their names destroyed by a partisan media outlet and the courts will decline to hear the merits of the case.”
While justice was served, again, it did come with a steep cost for the paper. The paper's legal fees totaled up to about $200,000. Fortunately, much of that cost was absorbed by the $132,000 they have raised so far from a GoFundMe account. Despite this help, they still have had to impose a hiring freeze, preventing them from expanding their newsroom. The paper is not allowed, by state law, to go after Tomczak for legal costs. How convenient, eh?
State Democrats had introduced a bill that would help defendants lower the costs by making it easier for them to get meritless cases struck down. Naturally, the Republicans who control the state legislature, let the bill die without seeing the light of day.
