Not Libel or IIED to Accuse Ex-Son-in-Law of Trying to Turn His Daughter (Accuser’s Granddaughter) Lesbian,
From James v. McGuinness, decided today by the Indiana Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Judge Edward Najam, joined by Chief Judge Cale Bradford and Judge Mark Bailey:
James was married to McGuiness’ daughter, Nicole Smith, until 2008. During the marriage, James and Smith had two children, Luca and [Shae], both of whom are now adults. For the past fourteen years, James has been in a same-sex relationship….
Scott assert[s] that McGuiness had sent Shae a text message with the following statements: “I will accept your father has turned you into a monster like himself”; “He hates us because we are educated, normal, and respectable”; “We may not have his money but what we have we earned”; and “He wanted to use you as a tool to move to Miami which has a large homosexual population.” In addition, James claimed that McGuiness had stated to Luca and other individuals that James was “trying to ‘turn’ Shae gay,” that he was “trying to lure Shae to Florida to entice her into the gay lifestyle,” that James “was disgusting,” and that “being gay is disgusting.” …
The court held that McGuinness’s statements didn’t qualify as defamation:
“Defamation is that which tends to injure reputation or to diminish esteem, respect, good will, or confidence in the plaintiff, or to excite derogatory feelings or opinions about the plaintiff.” … [Under Indiana law,]
[a] defamatory statement is said to either be “defamatory per se” or “defamatory per quod.” A communication is defamatory per se if it imputes: (1) criminal conduct; (2) a loathsome disease; (3) misconduct in a person’s trade, profession, office, or occupation
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