RONALD AUSTIN, ET AL. v. ANGELA KAY PLESE - Articles

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RONALD AUSTIN, ET AL. v. ANGELA KAY PLESE

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Mar 11, 2025

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Nathaniel Evans, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Angela Kay Plese.

Attorneys 2: Grant E. Mitchell, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Ronald Austin and Linda Austin.

Judge(s): SWINEY

This appeal arises from a lawsuit over defamation and false light invasion of privacy. Ronald Austin and Linda Austin (“Mr.” and “Ms. Austin,” respectively) (“Plaintiffs,” collectively) were neighbors of Angela Kay Plese (“Defendant”). Plaintiffs and Defendant did not get along. At one point, Defendant posted certain statements on Facebook about Ms. Austin, including that Ms. Austin had been convicted in Texas of deadly conduct with a gun. While Ms. Austin had pled guilty many years earlier to a Texas statute called “deadly conduct,” this was in the context of her reaching a better deal in a DUI case. Ms. Austin’s matter did not involve a gun. Plaintiffs sued Defendant for defamation and false light in the Circuit Court for Knox County (“the Trial Court”). After a trial, the Trial Court found in favor of Plaintiffs, awarding $95,100 in total damages for Ms. Austin’s medical expenses, damage to reputation, emotional distress, punitive damages, as well as Mr. Austin’s loss of consortium.1 Defendant appeals. We vacate that portion of the Trial Court’s award concerning damage to Ms. Austin’s reputation since the record contains no evidence of such damage. Therefore, we modify the judgment to $75,100. Otherwise, we affirm.

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