Lawsuit by Former Martin Agency Exec Joe Alexander Dismissed by Federal Court in Richmond
One of two defamation lawsuits filed last year by a former Martin Agency executive has been tossed out of federal court in Richmond, while the judge left room for it to be refiled elsewhere, reports Richmond BizSense.
The report added that a U.S. District Court judge last month “dismissed a suit brought last year by Joe Alexander, shown above, who claims he was the victim of a conspiracy to tarnish his reputation after he parted ways with Martin in late 2017 amid sexual harassment claims made against him within the agency.
“Alexander, the agency’s top creative executive at the time, argued in his $25 million federal defamation claim that industry trade Adweek, one of its reporters and other defendants conspired with other parties to publish false information about the harassment allegations in a series of online articles and tweets.
“A separate, $50 million defamation claim against Martin and parent company Interpublic Group was filed in Richmond Circuit Court and remained active as of Tuesday.
“In an opinion calling for the federal suit’s dismissal, Judge John Gibney Jr. said the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case because, among other reasons, the articles and tweets were not aimed at a Virginia audience. The opinion notes that Adweek and reporter Patrick Coffee are both based in New York, and that Virginia residents account for about 2 percent of Adweek’s subscribers.”
More here.
PHOTO: From 2017 Capitol Communicator post.
