Salyer v. Southern Poverty Law Center, Inc. [1]

Robert Salyer sued the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in Kentucky state court over allegedly defamatory content in its print and online magazine, "Intelligence Report," which he claims stated that "he had been disbarred from practicing in military courts and also that he had received a dishonorable discharge."  (Compl. [2] ¶ 3.)  The article [3] at issue seems to have been edited at some point to remove the allegedly defamatory content, but re-posts at Crime and Criminals [4] and The Experiment [5] maintain the original content.

The SPLC removed the case to federal court and moved to dismiss the suit as barred by the statute of limitations.  Although the district court judge agreed that the suit was filed after Kentucky's one-year statute of limitations on defamation actions had run, he denied the motion [6] pending discovery, as "changes to the website’s content may exist that would constitute substantial modification."  (Op. Den. Mot. to Dismiss [6] 7.)  Such modifications would constitute republication of the allegedly defamatory content, and would thus "reset the clock" on the statute of limitations.

On April 28, 2009, Salyer amended his complaint [7], adding a claim of outrage (also known as intentional infliction of emotional distress).  The judge granted [8] the SPLC's motion to dismiss [9] this new claim since Kentucky law bars an outrage claim where a plaintiff's other tort claims allow damages for emotional distress, as defamation does.