The city of Vallejo and two members of its police department have lost out on an early bid to dismiss a defamation suit brought by a couple whom the officers publicly accused of faking a kidnapping and wasting city resources.
A federal judge in Sacramento on Wednesday largely allowed the lawsuit filed by Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins to move forward in a disturbing case that mirrors plot elements from the movie "Gone Girl."
Quinn and Huskins were terrorized for days in March 2015 by Matthew Muller, a Harvard-educated immigration lawyer. Muller invaded the couple's home, then kidnapped and drugged Huskins before moving her elsewhere, holding her hostage and raping her. Quinn, who received ransom demands from Muller, reported the crime to Vallejo police only to have offices accuse him of being behind Quinn's disappearance himself. After Muller released Huskins in Huntington Beach, California, two days later, Vallejo police issued a press release claiming that there was no evidence of an abduction. Vallejo Police Lt. Kenny Park later said at a press conference that the investigation was a "wild goose chase" and demanded an apology from the couple.
After evidence found in the wake of similar home invasions implicated Muller, federal prosecutors brought a criminal complaint against him in July 2015 for the Huskins kidnapping. Muller was sentenced to 40 years in prison in March of this year.
Huskins and Quinn sued the city, Park and Detective Matthew Mustard last year with claims of defamation and infliction of emotional distress. The city's lawyers, led by Robert Chalfant of Cregger & Chalfant in Sacramento, contended in their motion to dismiss that the city and the officers were immunized from the defamation claims. They also argued that Quinn and Huskins were public figures, meaning they'd need to show actual malice to prove defamation.
But on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley of the Eastern District of California turned back the defendants' arguments, finding that the absolute immunity they were invoking applies only to malicious prosecution claims. Nunley also found lacking the defendants' contention that Huskins and Quinn were public figures.
"Plaintiffs have shown they avoided, even feared, media involvement or attention," wrote Nunley, noting that both Quinn and Huskins went out of their way to avoid the media. "Plaintiffs' voluntary act in this case consisted only of reporting the crime to the authorities. A person cannot become a public figure merely by seeking assistance or relief through the legal system," the judge wrote.