Brazil v. Roe [1]

On March 29, 2007, St. Charles County County Commissioner Joe Brazil filed a defamation lawsuit against political consultant Jeff Roe after Roe published statements on his blog, The Source [2], claiming that Brazil had been drinking at the time of an accident that killed one of his classmates in 1982. This post appeared days before the Republican primary for the District 2 Missouri State Senate race, in which Brazil was a candidate and lost.

Roe counter-sued Brazil, as well as First Capitol News, LLC, and First Capitol Publications and Photography, LLC. The claim against First Capitol News relates to a March 17, 2007 article [3] published on its website [4], in which a staff writer referred to Roe's blogging and political activity as "character assasination." For more information, see our database entry, Roe v. First Capitol News [5].

In January 2008, Roe removed the allegedly defamatory statements from his blog when he purged most of his archives. The lawsuit appears to be ongoing, but we have had difficulty obtaining information about its progress.

UPDATE:

On 12/04/2008 Roe dismissed his counterclaim against Brazil and his 3rd party claim against First Capitol News and First Capitol Publications without prejudice.Brazil's case is ongoing, with the most recent development a 05/06/2009 notice to take the deposition of William Hardin.