Jaeger v. Okon [1]

Bloggers Joy and Tom Okon, operators of North Center Neighbors [2], a blog that covers happenings in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago, were sued by James Jaeger and his development company for defamation. Jaeger's complaint [3]alleges that the Okons defamed him by posting statements on their blog (and sending emails) that implied that he had bribed government officials and engaged in dishonest business practices.

The dispute arose in the context of a controversial development project led by Jaeger's development company in the North Center neighborhood. Tom Okon, voicing his frustration with the development project, organized community opposition to the project and published several posts in May 2007 that were critical of Jaeger. According to Jaeger's amended complaint [3], Okon made the following false and defamatory statements on the blog:

• Our meeting with the chamber that we thought would be friendly and amicable turned out to be a sham. Based on prior meetings and statements, I thought we had support from key members of the Chamber. That support now appears to be non—existent. The Chamber seems to have swallowed Jim Jaegers [sic] BS hook line and sinker. I guess the large $3,500 donation he gave them really did the trick.


• Well it seems [the Chamber of Commerce] only care about how much money and power they have. Perhaps Mr. Jaeger also personally wrote them each a check... who knows for sure...


• This comes down now to business against residents. The businesses want more density and more people on Irving Park Road so they can line their pockets. They care nothing about our safety or quality of life. They would be happy to see Irving Park Road so crowded you can not even walk down it, as long as those people are waiting in line to patronize the businesses. [...] This developer is one of the worst offender’s [sic] of that practice.

On July 27, 2007, the Okons filed a motion to dismiss [4]on the basis that their statements were matters of opinion protected by the First Amendment and therefore not actionable as defamation. On October 5, 2007, the judge denied the motion to dismiss without explanation and ordered the parties to proceed to discovery.

After a limited period of discovery, the Okons filed a second motion to dismiss [5] under Illinois' newly enacted Citizen Participation Act [6], which provides immunity for speech related to certain matters of government and public concern. The Act mandates that all discovery should be suspended pending a decision on such a motion and that the movants are entitled to attorney’s fees and costs if they prevail.

While the Okons' motion was pending, the case settled. According to a report in the Chicago Journal [7], the parties settled sometime in April 2008:

[Tom Okon] said he learned on Saturday that the case had been settled out of court in an agreement reached by both his and Jaeger's attorneys. The details, of course, "are confidential," Okon said. He added, though that "it only cost me $20,000." The original lawsuit, according to the Okons, demanded $100,000 from them.

On April 24, Tom Okon posted an apology on North Center Neighbors [8], stating in part:

We have never had, and do not now have, any reason to believe that Mr. Jaeger ever made inappropriate payments to any organization, nor that he ever received any favorable treatment from the North Center Chamber of Commerce or any other political entity. We never had, and do not now have, any reason to believe that Mr. Jaeger ever engaged in deceptive or evil behavior.