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The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Hendricks Superior Court erred in dismissing a father’s defamation lawsuit against his son, who published a book and posted on social media allegations that his father committed domestic violence against his mother.
The son is Andrew Campbell, an Indianapolis-based family violence researcher and author of “Not Without My Pet: Understanding the Relationship Between Victims of Domestic Violence and Their Pets.” He also is the founder of Campbell Research and Consulting.
In his book and on social media he describes the fear and emotional and psychological abuse that he alleges his mother endured during his teen to young adult years.
In January 2023, Mark Campbell filed a complaint against his son for defamation and false light invasion of privacy. He has maintained that he was “never physically, sexually, emotionally, or verbally abusive” toward his son or his son’s mother.
Andrew moved to dismiss Mark’s complaint under Indiana’s anti-SLAPP statute, which allows defendants to move for the dismissal of a lawsuit in defense of their free speech rights “in connection with a public issue.”
The trial court granted the motion which the appellate court has now reversed.
“This case does not involve someone in the public eye or a newsworthy event. Andrew’s statements concerned private conduct by private individuals and attracted no public interest on their own besides through Andrew’s publicization of them in his book (which has garnered only $800 to $1,200 in sales), social-media posts, and speaking engagements,” Judge Nancy Vaidik wrote in the appellate court decison. “We agree with Mark that a person can’t turn private conduct by private individuals into a public issue simply by communicating it to a large number of people.”
The court has also remanded the case back to the trial court to continue the litigation of Mark’s claims and Andrew’s counterclaims.
The case is Mark Campbell v. Andrew Campbell and Campbell Research & Consulting LLC, 23A-CT-2178.
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