From Booth v. NITV, LLC, decided yesterday by Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. (E.D. Ark.):
Trayesha Booth was employed by the Arkansas Department of Corrections. An inmate asserted that she had supplied contraband. Following two failed voice-stress evaluations, Booth was dismissed by ADC….
The court determined, among other points, that Booth had sufficiently asserted a defamation claim against the test’s licensor, NITV Federal Services, thereby allowing the suit to advance (even though any factual development remains to be determined later):
NITV Federal Services allegedly caused a false statement—that Booth was deceptive—to be published to ADC by knowingly selling a defective product. A portrayal of Booth as a liar is highly offensive and plausibly caused reputational harm. A more developed record might reveal that the tests produce only data, which must be interpreted as in Aviation Charter, Inc. v. Aviation Research Group/US (8th Cir. 2005), but the pleadings do not.
The qualified-privilege defense [which provides immunity for merely negligent statements made in certain contexts -EV] likewise doesn’t bar Booth’s defamation claim at the pleadings stage. Booth has plausibly alleged a bad-faith statement: She asserts that NITV Federal Services knew its test results lacked truthfulness.
Luther Oneal Sutter represents plaintiff.
