Date set in defamation suit against Kyle Battie
Sarasota commissioner looks to end activist’s case
Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie is looking to end the defamation lawsuit against him by a local activist. Brian Goodrich, Battie’s attorney, filed a motion to dismiss the case in the 12th Judicial Circuit Tuesday night.
Goodrich told the Herald-Tribune he does not believe Battie’s remarks amount to defamation. However, the basis of the case will be his assertion that when the city commissioner accused the activist, Kelly Franklin, of posting the racist comment, he acted as a public official and, therefore, was “entitled to absolute immunity.”
“It would not matter if Commissioner Battie knew his allegedly defamatory statements were made up out of whole cloth,” the motion to dismiss said. “The only question that matters for purposes of evaluating Commissioner Battie’s entitlement to absolute immunity is whether Commissioner Battie’s statements made at the January 16, 2024 City Commission meeting were within the scope of his office.”
A case management conference with the legal teams and Judge Stephen Walker is scheduled for July 29.
Goodrich, of the Sarasota firm Bentley Goodrich Kison, also said his firm has yet to send a payment invoice to Battie or the city. The City Commission voted to pay the first $15,000 of Battie’s legal expenses, with more funding subject to future votes by the board.
In a January City Commission meeting, Battie publicly accused Franklin, a local activist, of targeting him in a racist social media post. Franklin’s attorney, Richard Harrison, alleges that the post Battie presented to the commission was a hoax and that Battie was acting outside of his scope as an elected official.
Battie’s evidence included a printed screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between unidentified individuals, with a message containing a photograph of a crumpled-up, printed screenshot of the alleged Facebook post with slightly blurry text. In a letter to city officials, Harrison called it “a clownishly bad hoax” that “should have been recognized as such immediately by any person of reasonable intelligence.”
Harrison submitted in his legal complaint Battie’s text messages obtained through a public records request that he argues show Battie knew the post was a fabrication.
“Even if this ambitious theory was true, it does not bear on the analysis of Commissioner Battie’s absolute privilege,” the motion said. “To be sure, it would not matter even if Commissioner Battie’s alleged statements were completely ‘false, malicious, or badly motivated,’ as Franklin alleges.”
Battie refused to apologize or back down at the meeting after Harrison called on him to resign.
“I did think (the allegation) was true, and I still think that it is true until proven that it’s not,” Battie said at the meeting. “Maybe there are ‘experts’ out there that say it’s a hoax. I hope that it’s not, to be honest with you.”
Goodrich said that anything Harrison submitted in his initial complaint is not guaranteed to be admissible in court.