The Star, citing ‘utter hypocrisy,’ seeks dismissal of Kansas lawmaker’s defamation suit

The Kansas City Star has asked a Johnson County judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the paper by Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, R-Overland Park, saying that his attorney, Michael Kuckelman, is using the case to promote a bid to chair the state Republican Party.

Denning sued The Star and former contributing columnist Steve Rose last month for defamation, alleging that Rose falsely attributed statements to him in a Jan. 26 column describing his reasons for opposing Medicaid expansion.

In the paper’s first legal response, filed Friday, attorney Bernie Rhodes called Denning’s suit “utter hypocrisy,” citing his 2017 vote against expansion of the health care program for low-income families.

The Star argued for dismissal of the suit under a 2016 law that Denning helped to pass. The Public Speech Protection Act is intended to protect against meritless lawsuits that chill free speech. Such suits are also known as SLAPPs, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation.” Defendants who prevail under the act are entitled to attorney fees and possible sanctions against the party that brought the suit.

“This has been a politically motivated and frivolous lawsuit from day one—the very definition of a SLAPP suit,” Rhodes said in an email. “That’s why we are asking the court to order Senator Denning to pay The Star’s attorney’s fees—under the anti-SLAPP statute that Senator Denning voted for.”

Rhodes also notes in The Star’s motion that Kuckelman, an Overland Park attorney, is “not a political novice” and has been “actively using the lawsuit he filed on behalf of Sen. Denning to promote himself” ahead of the state GOP convention in Topeka this weekend.

Kuckelman appeared on KCMO Talk Radio to discuss both the lawsuit and the race for state chairman. The news release announcing Denning’s action was sent out by Lisa Hoffman, a local public relations consultant who is also working for Kuckelman’s campaign.

As further evidence of Hoffman’s dual role, Rhodes cited a story under her byline in the Atchison Globe promoting Kuckelman’s bid for party chair.

“Sen. Denning and his grandstanding lawyer have abused the judicial system for their political goals in filing a lawsuit bereft of any facts – no less the clear and convincing facts required under Kansas law,” the response says. “It is patently obvious these two Republican Party insiders lobbed this meritless hand grenade of a lawsuit against The Star because they wanted to issue a press release announcing the lawsuit to beat the drum of ‘Fake News’ and bolster Mr. Kuckelman’s candidacy for the Chair of the Kansas Republican Party.”

The response also asks the court to sanction Denning, Kuckelman and his law firm under the anti-SLAPP statute “in an amount this Court deems necessary to deter other politicians from copying the illicit tactics employed by Sen. Denning and his counsel.”

In a statement from Kuckelman’s law firm, released Friday afternoon, Denning disavowed any political intent or coordinated effort to elevate Kuckelman to the party chairmanship.

“That’s absurd,” Denning said. “This lawsuit is important, because it points out the sloppy, unethical and reckless article written by Steve Rose and published by The Star. It’s about making them answer for it.”

Rhodes argued in the paper’s motion that Denning’s suit fails to meet the essential tests for defamation. They include “actual malice,” which requires Denning to prove that The Star acted with reckless disregard for the truth by publishing Rose’s column at a time when it had serious doubts about its accuracy,

Denning alleges that Rose “conjured up” his name as the source for the anti-Medicaid comments because he was faced with a deadline and under pressure from his editor.

But The Star’s response includes an email exchange showing that Rose was asked by his editor, Colleen McCain Nelson, to identify the source several hours in advance of the deadline.

“And he did so promptly,” Rhodes said.

McCain Nelson’s reliance on Rose’s identification of Denning “was plainly reasonable,” Rhodes said, as Denning was a known opponent of Medicaid expansion.

After Rose’s column was published, he told McCain Nelson that Denning made the statements to him a year ago. Even though he had written that Denning had “finally confessed” his reasons for rejecting Medicaid expansion.

McCain Nelson advised Rose that he should have told her that prior to publication, the response says.

McCain Nelson wrote to Denning’s chief of staff, advising him that the column did not meet the paper’s standards for publication. The Star also removed the column from its website.

Rhodes said that at every point in the process, both before and after publication, The Star acted responsibly and well within the bounds of fair comment.

“Sen. Denning and Mr. Kuckelman are deeply engaged in the ‘rough and tumble’ of party politics. As such, they are fair targets of criticism. Here, that criticism is imminently fair, and is not legally actionable.”

This story was originally published February 15, 2019 at 10:20 AM.