City Manager files defamation complaint in 7th District Court
Moab City Manager Rebecca Davidson, Tara Smelt and Tayo, Inc., have filed a lawsuit against five people alleging defamation of character, intentional emotional distress, and intentional interference with the economic relationships of Smelt and information technology and communications company Tayo, Inc., of which Smelt is a co-founder. The civil complaint — filed Sept. 16 in Moab’s 7th District Court — alleges that Moab residents Chris Baird, Annie Tueller Payne and Janet Buckingham, as well as Connie McMillan of Kemmerer, Wyoming, and former Moab resident Jim Stiles and his online alternative news blog the Canyon Country Zephyr made “false and defamatory” statements against Davidson, Smelt and Tayo, Inc. The plaintiffs are seeking “foreseeable consequential and punitive damages, in an amount to be determined at [a jury] trial,” according to the complaint.
“In the [city manager] position I know how to let stuff roll off me and I do that pretty well,” Davidson told The Times-Independent. “ … It’s been over a year of this going on. And it seems like every time somebody takes a breath, there’s another group coming out saying other things that aren’t factual. And it’s time to stop.”
The complaint alleges that Davidson and Smelt have been personally damaged, including personal humiliation and damages to their reputations and standing in the community, due to statements and online posts made by the five individuals named in the lawsuit. The complaint alleges that damages to Tayo, Inc. include the inability to obtain employment with Moab city and other potential clients.
When contacted Sept. 20 by The Times-Independent, Stiles, Buckingham and Payne each said they were unaware of the lawsuit and had not been notified that it was filed in court. All three declined to comment on the issue at that time.