City faces more legal bills in Kyle Battie defamation case

On Friday, July 12, the attorney representing Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie filed a response to city resident Kelly Franklin’s amended complaint on civil charges of defamation. 

Three days later, city commissioners agreed to paying Battie’s legal expenses, as the city is required to do under the circumstances.

That’s because in his June 12 ruling to grant Battie’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Stephen Walker stated Battie was acting in his role of an elected official when he displayed a printout of a racially charged social media post credited to Franklin. In response, Franklin called the post a hoax perpetrated by an unknown third party, and said that Battie knew it was a hoax before presenting it in open forum on Jan. 16.

Franklin’s amended complaint, filed on July 2, contains the same five charges as did the original. But Franklin shifted the core complaint from slander to libel because the public presentation can be defined as published. The new complaint places greater emphasis on her allegation that Battie knew in mid-December 2023 that the post, which could not be found on Franklin’s Facebook account, was fraudulent.

In the motion to dismiss, attorney Brian Goodrich wrote, “As a public official, Commissioner Battie possesses absolute immunity from defamation claims (and related torts) relating to his scope of office. It would not matter if Commissioner Battie defamed Franklin, if he acted with ill will, or if he acted maliciously.”

He continued, “Even interpreting Franklin’s allegations in the light most favorable to her, Franklin’s amended complaint must be dismissed with prejudice, as Commissioner Battie acted within the scope of his office at the January 16, 2024, City Commission meeting. Further, Franklin does not state a claim for conspiracy or intentional infliction of emotional distress or civil conspiracy.”

Battie’s legal bills in the first round exceeded $26,000, the amount over $25,000 to be paid by the city’s insurance carrier. With the amended complaint, the meter starts again. Rather than the $15,000 commissioners approved — plus the additional $10,000 as required by state statute — for the initial complaint, Mayor Liz Alpert suggested a pay-as-you-go process this time, settling monthly invoices as they arrive. 

Commissioner Erik Arroyo made the motion, which was approved 4-0 with Battie recused, in part based on the assumption the case will again be dismissed on the same grounds. If so, the city’s expenses would stop again at $25,000, its directors and officers' insurance deductible. 

If rebuffed again, Franklin has vowed to appeal the case all the way to the Florida Supreme Court, which would mean future legal expenses for the city. Should the ruling be reversed at any part of the process, the city would no longer be required to pay his legal expenses.