Appeals court overturns Roy Moore’s $8.2M defamation award

An appeals court on Friday overturned an $8.2 million defamation judgment won by Roy Moore, marking a significant reversal in a legal battle tied to misconduct allegations that have shadowed the former Alabama chief justice for years.

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The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court decision that had awarded Moore damages in 2022 after he sued Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC over statements tied to accusations of sexual misconduct made during his 2017 U.S. Senate campaign.

“Moore is a public figure, and he failed to present clear and convincing evidence,” the 45-page ruling said.

In its decision, the three-judge panel said that the legal standard for defamation involving a public figure was not properly met, particularly the requirement to prove “actual malice.” Under longstanding precedent, public officials like Moore must demonstrate that the defendants either knew the statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The court found that the evidence presented did not sufficiently meet that threshold, warranting reversal of the multimillion-dollar award.

“At most, it shows that SMP made a poor choice of words in—a negligent error at best. And a negligent error is not a basis for a finding of actual malice,” 11th Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch wrote in the opinion.

The Senate Majority PAC’s 2017 ad referenced allegations from multiple women who accused Moore of inappropriate sexual conduct decades earlier, including claims that he pursued teenagers while he was in his 30s.

Moore sued Senate Majority PAC in 2019 for libel, alleging the group defamed him and portrayed him in a false light. The lawsuit centered on claims that an ad suggested he pursued a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl working as a “Santa’s helper” at a mall in Gadsden, Alabama.

Moore has denied the accusations.