SE Oakland News

A recent attempt by Bloomfield Township Supervisor Leo Savoie and Treasurer Brian Kepes to sue two local residents for their comments on NextDoor.com was struck down by Circuit Judge Daniel O’Brien, and the residents' attorney is seeking to have the officials pay his court fees.

Attorney Brian Wassom called the entire lawsuit frivolous, saying, “The very existence of this lawsuit is anathema to the foundational principles of free speech," according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Savoie and Kepes had sued Bloomfield residents Val Murray and Kathleen Norton-Schock for damages that could have amounted to $9 million, on the basis that comments on the social media site contained false information and violated a site policy against political comments.

“This lawsuit is incredibly frivolous,” Wassom told Michigan Capitol Confidential. “It would be comical if it wasn’t such a dangerous assault on free speech.”

Savoie and Kepes had also attempted to bring the suit as a class action on behalf of residents they say were denied services a defeated tax assessment would have paid for. The tax increase was defeated by a significant margin last year.

“Nobody fact-checks at all,” Savoie said, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. “In fact, facts are the least of their concerns.”

After the lawsuit was struck down, O'Brien maintained that the statements made by Murray were demonstrably false and that the lawsuit itself was not an attack on free speech.

During the August primary, Savoie lost his bid for re-election as township supervisor. Kepes is running in the November general election to retain his position as treasurer. In an additional twist, however, Murray is making a bid to join those public officials who face scrutiny on social media by running in the upcoming election for township trustee.