By Sue Loughlin
TERRE HAUTE — A 4 1/2-year legal battle involving a defamation lawsuit against Dan Tanoos appears to be over.
On Wednesday, the Indiana Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the superintendent of Vigo County schools and reversed a Court of Appeals decision in the suit filed by Jay Kelley in 2002.
With its 5-0 decision, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a Vigo County trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of Tanoos.
“The case is finally over, subject to a petition for rehearing, which will almost surely fail if it is filed,” particularly since the decision was unanimous, said Bryan Babb, of the Indianapolis law firm Bose, McKinney and Evans, which has represented Tanoos in the case.
Historically, the court grants a rehearing in less than 1 percent of cases, he said.
Tanoos said he was grateful for the decision. “It closes a very difficult chapter in the life of my family,” he said. “We’re thankful. Our prayers have been answered … It’s something we now can put behind us.”
From the beginning, he said, “I put my faith in the justice system, and it ended up in the state’s highest court. I appreciate the work they’ve done.”
Kelley, who filed the lawsuit in December 2002, alleged Tanoos falsely accused him of a Jan. 17, 2001 shooting in which Tanoos was grazed in the head by a bullet. He also alleged that Tanoos tried to get him fired from his job at Gibault Inc. Kelley no longer works at Gibault. Kelley never was shown to be connected to the shooting, a crime in which no one was ever convicted.
The lawsuit named Tanoos individually, but not in his capacity as superintendent.
The alleged incident of defamation occurred at the Apple Club during a conversation between Tanoos and Gibault Inc. director James Sinclair.
Much of the lawsuit evidence focused on the Dec. 21, 2001 luncheon conversation. Tanoos secretly taped the discussion for police and a transcript became part of the evidence in Kelley’s lawsuit.
Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision changed the law in Indiana by recognizing something called “public interest privilege,” Babb said.
Previously, to encourage citizens to report criminal activity, the law recognized “conditional privilege” for those who made defamatory statements to law enforcement officials, Babb said.
Those statements could not be subject to a defamation lawsuit, as long as that privilege was not abused, Babb said.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision now extends the same conditional privilege to statements made to non-law enforcement personnel for purposes of preventing crime, Babb said.
Kelley’s attorney, John Price, had argued that Tanoos’ statements to Sinclair were not privileged because Sinclair is not a police officer.
The Supreme Court decision has statewide implications, Babb said. “It will now be easier for school and law enforcement officials to work together to deter and fight crime in the future” without fear of defamation lawsuits, he said.
Kelley, who now lives and works in Indianapolis, said he was disappointed in the outcome. “I’m glad I did what I did. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’m proud that I took action to attempt to save my name,” he said.
The court acknowledged Kelley was defamed, Kelley said. “I want to make it really clear, he did in fact defame me, but because of the privilege, he’s able to get away with that.”
Asked whether he’d request a rehearing, he said he’d leave that up to his attorney.
Price agreed that the state Supreme Court decision has changed the law in Indiana.
Before Wednesday’s ruling, “the Indiana Court of Appeals had reiterated what had been the prevailing law … You couldn’t defame someone to a private citizen and then say you were privileged to do so because you were working with police … That has now changed,” Price said.
Eleven local and state law enforcement and education organizations submitted legal briefs, called amicus briefs, in support of Tanoos in the case.
Babb said that without a doubt, the legal briefs had an impact in the state Supreme Court’s decision.
A brief filed by law enforcement argued that Indiana should recognize a privilege that protects communications made to private citizens in a good-faith effort to prevent crime or apprehend criminals.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at sue.loughlin@tribstar.comeached or at (812) 231-4235.
