Couzens, Jr. v. Donohue

Plaintiffs filed suit in state court against defendants, alleging claims of defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiff alleged that defendants published false information to discredit and humiliate him in retaliation for his public allegations that he was sexually abused by priests. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the district court's orders denying plaintiff's motion for remand and dismissing his causes of action for failure to state a claim. The court agreed with defendants that Missouri Defendants McLiney and O'Laughlin were fraudulently joined; Defendants KCCL sufficiently consented to removal; and thus the court affirmed the denial of plaintiff's motion for remand. The court also affirmed the district court's dismissal of plaintiff's defamation claim as time-barred under Missouri's borrowing statute. Because plaintiff alleged that false statements injured his reputation, defamation, not invasion of privacy, was in fact the basis of his cause of action. Therefore, the court affirmed the district court's dismissal of plaintiff's invasion of privacy claim. Finally, the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff's claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. View "Couzens, Jr. v. Donohue" on Justia Law