Fandino v. Lebanon Truth [1]

The Lebanon, Oregon school district has been in turmoil for many years. On August 1, 2007, three members of the school board placed the superintendent on administrative leave pending an investigation. In response, an anonymous blogger going by "Lebanon Truth" ("LT") started a blog designed to give the public an alternative perspective on current events and access to information about alleged wrongdoing by school district employees (information that was supposed to be confidential, but that LT was able to confirm through a variety of sources). The blog claimed that the administrative leave action was both illegal and not helpful in resolving the issues facing the district.

LT also posted statements, self-described as opinions, about key players in the dispute, including the president of the local teachers union Kim Fandino, the athletic director, and the football coach, all of whom oppose the current district administration. LT also posted comments about board and audience behavior at school board meetings, rumors about the superintendent's alleged infidelity and why those rumors were not credible, and opinions on ways to resolve the conflict in the community.

Sometime in September 2007, Fandino apparently contacted local law enforcement officials claiming that the statements on the blog constituted criminal harassment and/or cyberbullying. According to the Lebanon Express [2], officials informed Fandino that the statements did not reach the level of criminal harassment or cyberbullying, but that the statements might violate civil libel laws or school board policy.

On September 28, Fandino filed a complaint with the school district, claiming that the blog was cyberbulling by a district employee (although the identity of the blogger was not known) and asking the district to subpoena Google to reveal the identity of the blogger. After consulting with the district's lawyer, the superintendent declined to take up the matter on behalf of Fandino and advised that she retain her own lawyer.

Fandino then appealed to the five member school board. The item was scheduled for discussion at the November 5, 2007 board meeting. At the meeting, the board chair indicated that the district's lawyer had advised against pursuing legal action against the blogger and requested that the board postpone any further action until the members had a chance to meet with counsel on November 19. One board member moved to allow Fandino to address the board directly and another member seconded the motion, but the chair rejected the motion as out of order and adjourned the meeting.

On November 12, LT published a post [3] on Oregon's anti-SLAPP statute (Or. Rev. Stat. § 31.150 [4]), indicating that it should help him/her to strike the complaint and recover attorney's fees in the event of a lawsuit by Fandino or the school district.