$1 defamation suit making its way through Utah court


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PROVO — A member of the Utah County Republican Party is suing a party leader for defamation and asking for just $1 in damages.

Julie Blaney filed the lawsuit against Daryl Acumen, the vice chairman of the Utah County Republican Party, claiming he wrongly accused her of stealing money meant for the party.

“He had the ability to know what he was saying was malicious and flagrantly false, yet he published it to as many people as he felt he could to do damage to me,” Blaney said.

“This is a case of ‘let’s try to destroy somebody’s reputation as well as we can, and then make the claim that we’re somehow trying to investigate,’ ” said Matthew Duffin, Blaney’s attorney.

A small claims judge already sided with Blaney, and now Acumen is appealing to a district court. His attorney, Matthew Grimmer, argues Acumen was only fulfilling his duties as a party leader.

“Do we have protection if we believe something in the political party is not right, or are we going to be subject to being sued for defamation?” Grimmer said.


All (Blaney) asked for in this case was $1. She just wanted to clear her name. ... She wanted people to stop saying that she stole money, when she actually contributed to the Republican Party.

–Matthew Duffin, attorney


For his part, Acumen said he is upset the case was ever brought to court.

“I alleged a violation of a bylaw; they decided to bring it to the courts," he said. "Frankly, I don’t think that is a conservative way to go forward. Conservatives say what they’ll do, and they do what they say. Conservatives spend less than they make and give what they can. Conservatives admit when they are wrong instead of filing frivolous lawsuits, trying to save face."

However, Duffin said taking the case to a judge was the only solution to cut through the party politics.

“All (Blaney) asked for in this case was $1. She just wanted to clear her name,” Duffin said. “She wanted the harassment to stop. She wanted people to stop saying that she stole money, when she actually contributed to the Republican Party.”

But the emotions of this $1 case are high — and boiled over in the hallway of the courtroom Monday in an argument between one of Blaney's supporters and Acumen who insists he did nothing wrong.

“It’s unfortunate this sort of thing had to happen. I thought I was doing the right thing. I saw something I didn’t think was appropriate,” Acumen said.

The judge said she will issue a written ruling in the next 30 days.

UPDATE: On May 23, District Court Judge Christine S. Johnson overturned the small claims ruling. The order states, "The Plaintiff's (Blaney) claims of defamation fail."

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Sam Penrod

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