“McKenney ordered him from his car, attempted to pull a cell phone from his hands because Cox was video recording the interaction, obstructed the collection of evidence and violated Cox’s First and Fourth Amendment Rights.”
On June 20th, Virginia Cop Block published the news about Virginia State Trooper Melanie McKenney filing yet another Civil Lawsuit against Virginia Cop Block Founder Nathan Cox; going from a $5K lawsuit to now a $1.35 Million dollar lawsuit.
Cox’s Attorney’s over at Thomas Robert’s and Associates located in Richmond have come out of the gates swinging filing two pleadings along with their own exhibits in hopes of getting this frivolous lawsuit dismissed, this time for good.
The first pleading covers the Statute of Limitations.
Taken from the introduction:
“(1) This Suit is nothing more than a bad-faith, baseless attempt by State Trooper McKenney to hide behind her private persona and silence Nathan Cox – to retaliate against him for his First Amendment protected political activity – by issuing him a million dollar ticket.”
(2) State Trooper McKenney filed suit in small claims court on March 12, 2014. That suit was dismissed, appealed and then non-suited. By the time State Trooper McKenney filed her March 13, 2014 suit, the statute of limitations for any statement complained of had long since run. Complaint 4-9. The Complaint, State Trooper McKenney expressly claims that ‘[t]his case was previously non-suited and is being refiled within six months of the prior non-suit.’
You can read the rest of those pleadings here: Hanover Circuit Filing -1st Special Plea in Bar – Statute of Limitations
As for the second pleadings which had video exhibits, which were that of Cox’s cell phone video and the DashCam video that he acquired by way of a FOIA Request (which the videos can be found on VA Cop Block’s YouTube channel); this pleading goes after the “Truth of all actionable statements.”
The opening Introduction of that pleading states:
“I asked him to get out of the car and he puts a camera in my face”
“I don’t want myself on any type of YouTube or whatever.”
(Quotes pulled from Dashboard Camera Audio)
“(1) In this case, State Trooper M.H McKenney sues Nathan Cox for defamation after Cox shared accounts of a traffic stop in which McKenney ordered him from his car, attempted to pull a cell phone from his hands because Cox was video recording the interaction, obstructed the collection of evidence and violated Cox’s First and Fourth Amendment Rights.
(2) To Prevail, McKenney must show the statements Cox made are both actionable and false. Many of the alleged defamatory statements are not actionable as a matter of law. As for the rest, the video and other documents related to the incident show that these statements are true or substantially true. While McKenney may be personally offended by some of the statements or the mode of their expression, they are not actionable. Indeed, they constitute protected speech under the First Amendment. Therefore this case should be promptly dismissed. Alternatively, any purported statements the Court determines not to be actionable or which are true should be stricken before the case proceeds further.”
Read the rest of these pleadings here:
Hanover Circuit Filing – 2nd Special Plea in Bar – Truth of All Actionable Statements
Cox’s attorney’s will be releasing a video that will be an exhibit in this case and when that video is released, this article will be updated with the embedded video.
Continue to follow this case by following Virginia Cop Block on Facebook, Twitter and the website.
Nathan Cox is seeking donations for his Legal Defense Fund to help pay the cost of his attorneys. Consider making a donation and helping Cox protect hist First Amendment rights and perhaps, although it’s not clear, this case could help set a precedent in protecting YOUR first amendment rights in the process. Click on the image below to make a donation. Cox has stated he’ll be sending personalized hand-written thank you cards, to everyone who donates.
Also, to view the Trooper’s 11 page complaint you can find that here: $1.35M Civil Lawsuit / 11 Page Complaint.
Thanks for reading. Civil Lawsuit Update: Cox’s Attorney’s respond to $1.35M lawsuit is a post from Virginia Cop Block
