Judge throws out Kansas lawmaker’s defamation suit against The Star, citing 2016 law

A judge has thrown out Kansas Senate Republican Leader Jim Denning’s defamation lawsuit against The Kansas City Star — dismissing it under a state law the senator voted for in 2016.

The Overland Park lawmaker sued the newspaper and then-contributing columnist Steve Rose in January, alleging they had defamed him in a column about his opposition to Medicaid expansion.

On Tuesday, Johnson County District Court Judge Paul Gurney granted The Star’s motion to strike Denning’s lawsuit under Kansas’ public speech protection act. The law was approved unanimously by the Legislature in an effort to limit suits over speech.

“From the start, it was evident that this was a political ploy and an attempt to generate headlines — not a legitimate lawsuit,” said Colleen McCain Nelson, The Star’s vice president and editorial page editor.

“With this decision, the judge affirmed that Senator Denning’s claim against The Star was entirely without merit, and more importantly, he protected the First Amendment rights of The Star and all journalists.”

After the judge’s decision was announced, Denning posted two messages about it on Twitter.

“We are obviously disappointed the judge dismissed our malice case against the KC Star,” the first message said. “The Star admitted the Steve Rose article did not meet their standards and had it immediately deleted.

“The lawsuit has forced the Star to publicly admit the comments made in the Rose article were false,” the second message read. “With the evidence presented to the public, I believe I have proven my case.”

Nelson did not agree that the reporting in the Rose column was false.

“Steve Rose’s failure to disclose the timeline for his conversation with the senator did not meet The Star’s standards,” she said. “But based on Rose’s track record and Denning’s very public opposition to Medicaid expansion, we believe the reporting was accurate.”

The lawsuit came after The Star published a column in January by Rose in which Rose said Denning had “finally confessed” his reasons for rejecting Medicaid expansion. The column contended Denning offered “lame excuses” for not expanding Medicaid.

Denning said he hadn’t spoken to Rose in years, while Rose has said he did not make up the statements attributed to Denning.

In court, Denning’s attorney, Michael Kuckelman, said The Star and Rose didn’t have unlimited license to make up statements and attribute them to Denning.

“Some of those statements will affect Sen. Denning in a future election,” said Kuckelman, who is also chairman of the Kansas Republican Party.

Denning has said he plans to bring Medicaid expansion legislation before the Senate in 2020. The issue roiled the Legislature this year, with Democrats and Gov. Laura Kelly pushing unsuccessfully to pass a proposal through the Senate.

Bernie Rhodes, The Star’s attorney, said Kuckelman had campaigned on the lawsuit to win the position of party chairman. The lawsuit was an effort to boost his candidacy, Rhodes said.

He also faulted Denning, accusing the senator of believing he’s above the law.

“Senator Denning is a powerful political figure who chose to use the courts for political purposes rather than what they’re for and the judge saw through that smoke screen and validated the first amendment rights of The Kansas City Star and every other news organization that seeks to hold power accountable,” Rhodes said after the hearing.

Generally, proving defamation against a public figure, such as Denning, requires showing the defendant made a false statement and did so with malice. At a hearing, Gurney said evidence of malice on The Star’s part was lacking.

“There is clearly a missing element that is required … and that’s the malice,” Gurney said.

The Star had no reason to believe Rose’s column was factually incorrect, Gurney said, noting Rose didn’t have a history of reckless behavior.

Under the decision, Denning will ultimately have to pay The Star’s legal costs. Rhodes estimated the fees at about $40,000.

Denning’s defamation claim against Rose is still pending. Rose was not an employee of The Star, but an independent contractor.

This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Judge throws out Kansas lawmaker’s defamation suit against The Star, citing 2016 law."