Attorneys for former Capital High principal Clinton Giles, Kanawha County's school board and board member Pete Thaw argued Monday over whether Thaw's comments about Giles in February 2015 were defamatory and whether the comments make the whole board liable.
"Those are all statements of opinions and beliefs and cannot be the subject of a defamation case," said Andy Brison, a Charleston-based attorney for the board, during a hearing Monday on requests filed by Thaw and the board to dismiss the case.
"There are no facts alleged in [Giles'] complaint that the board of education authorized Mr. Thaw to make those statements or ratified those statements after the fact," Brison told Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Charles King.
At the Feb. 9, 2015 meeting, the five-member board accepted Giles' retirement, which he gave notice for the day he was charged with a misdemeanor for failing to immediately report an alleged sexual assault of one student by another at his school.
After the board adjourned the meeting, which had included a closed session, at least two other board members declined to comment about Giles to the Charleston Gazette, but Thaw did speak. Speaking to reporters for several outlets, Thaw called Giles "insubordinate."
"He ought to resign because, frankly, you cannot have an environment where the children are not safe," Thaw said. "... When you have rape, I would think that you would run to the phone and report it."
He also said: "I do regret that we're letting him call the tune on when he quits."
Thaw cautioned that he couldn't give an "unbiased opinion" of Giles because of past issues with him "pushing the envelope," though he didn't specify what these issues were. He said voting to hire him as Capital's principal 13 years ago was the "second-worst mistake I ever made." When asked for the worst mistake, Thaw said "she's still active in the system" and declined to name her.
About a month after that meeting, Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster dismissed the charge against Giles after saying she didn't believe county prosecutors acted in bad faith but that the law didn't support his prosecution. Kanawha Prosecuting Attorney Charles Miller didn't object to the dismissal.
In January 2016, Giles filed a lawsuit against both the board and Thaw individually, accusing them of defamation and false light invasion of privacy. Giles' complaint cites some of the statements Thaw made to reporters Feb. 9, 2015, pointing out they were included in a WCHS-TV evening broadcast.
"The wrongs complained of in this action occurred during interviews gratuitously provided to the news media," Giles argued in the lawsuit, which requests judgment against Thaw and the board for lost income, injury to Giles' reputation, emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment.
"Thaw's statements were made recklessly, delivered in a malicious tone, and in utter disregard of, or with the intent to injure, the rights of Mr. Giles to the presumption of innocence and a fair trial," the suit states.
Giles' attorney, Jim Cagle, said the only issue for King to decide was whether Thaw's statements were "capable of defamatory meaning."
"What Mr. Thaw said was that this man was guilty of the crime that was charged," Cagle said.
He argued Thaw's statements implied "undisclosed defamatory facts," such as Thaw knowing something that made Giles unqualified for his position, or knowing something that made Giles guilty of a crime that he was ultimately not found guilty of.
Johnnie Brown, a Charleston-based attorney whom the board hired to specifically represent Thaw, said the standard for a false light claim requires the public disclosure of highly offensive private facts that the public has no legitimate interest in.
"Those statements do not disclose facts, public or private," Brown said.
King didn't make a ruling following Monday's roughly half-hour hearing. The judge asked the sides to submit proposed orders and precedent-setting rulings for him to consider.
Reach Ryan Quinn at ryan.quinn@wvgazettemail.com, facebook.com/ryanedwinquinn, 304-348-1254 or follow @RyanEQuinn on Twitter.