The $30 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News and “The Five” host Jessica Tarlov from Hunter Biden whistleblower Tony Bobulinski was dismissed by a New York judge Tuesday.
Bobulinski, a former business partner of the Biden family, was ordered to pay Tarlov’s legal fees after originally filing the suit in March after Tarlov said he had past legal fees paid for by a super PAC connected to President-elect Donald Trump.
“Before the Court is Tarlov’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and motion for attorney’s fees under New York’s anti-SLAPP law,” District Judge J. Paul Oetken wrote. “For the reasons that follow, the motion to dismiss is granted. And because the Court concludes that the mandatory fee-shifting provision of New York’s anti-SLAPP law applies in federal court, Tarlov’s motion for attorney’s fees is also granted.”
Judge Oetken’s dismissal denied Bobulinski and his legal team’s demands for $30 million in compensatory, special and punitive damages.
“Fox News is pleased with the court’s landmark decision, which not only dismissed Tony Bobulinski and Stefan Passantino’s meritless allegations against Jessica Tarlov, but also marks the first federal court decision to award attorney’s fees under New York’s anti-SLAPP statute,” a Fox spokesperson told TheWrap.
“Bobulinski also fails to adequately allege that Tarlov’s statements tended to injure him in his capacity as a businessman,” Oetken said. “The New York Court of Appeals has held that, for a statement to qualify as defamation per se under the professional conduct exception, the statement must specifically reference conduct that is incompatible with a person’s profession, ‘rather than a more general reflection upon the plaintiff’s character or qualities.’”
The legal battle began when Tarlov said on her Fox News show “The Five” that “Tony Bobulinski’s lawyers’ fees have been paid by a Trump Super PAC. That’s as recent as January.” Bobulinski and his attorney Stefan Passantino filed the lawsuit the following week.
“It is a matter of fact that since 2020, when Mr. Bobulinski first started speaking publicly against the Biden family, he has spent over $500,000 of his own money on legal fees,” the complaint read. “Neither President Trump, nor any persons or entities affiliated with President Trump, have ever paid for any of Mr. Bobulinski’s legal fees during this time.”
The plaintiffs also wrote a letter to Fox News demanding a retraction of the comment from Tarlov. She addressed it on the March 21 episode of “The Five.”
“I would like to clarify a comment I made yesterday during our discussion of Tony Bobulinski’s appearance at the congressional hearing. During an exchange with my colleagues about the hearing I said that Mr. Bobulinski’s lawyers’ fees have been paid by a Trump super PAC as recent as January.
“What was actually said during the hearing was that the law firm representing Mr. Bobulinski was paid by a Trump PAC,” Tarlov continued. “I have seen no indication those payments were made in connection with Mr. Bobulinski’s legal fees and he denies that they were.”
