Defendants blast Rockingham Co. defamation suit as anti-casino effort

Defendants in a defamation lawsuit at the North Carolina Court of Appeals characterize the case in new court filings as an extension of the plaintiff’s political fight against casinos in Rockingham County.

Craig Travis, a former 12-year Rockingham County commissioner, filed suit in June 2024 after losing the March 2024 Republican primary election. Travis finished fourth among seven Republicans vying for three commissioner seats.

He finished three votes behind incumbent Kevin Berger, the son of state Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. Kevin Berger went on to win re-election in November 2024.

Travis’ defamation suit names Berger, fellow commissioner Mark Richardson, and former commissioner Donald Powell as defendants. The suit also targets Rockingham County GOP Chair Diane Parnell and three conservative political organizations: North Carolina Conservatives Fund, Atlas Political Consulting, and GOPAC.

Superior Court Judge Hoyt Tessener dismissed Travis’ suit in April 2025. Travis then raised concerns about Tessener’s potential bias because of previous campaign donations and his legislative appointment to the bench. Tessener denied Travis’ motion to set aside the original dismissal order in July 2025.

Now Travis is asking North Carolina’s second-highest court to reverse Tessener’s decisions.

“Plaintiff had no good reason for filing this lawsuit,” wrote Craig Schauer, the lawyer representing the individual defendants, in a brief filed Wednesday.

“Plaintiff characterizes the lawsuit as a defamation action concerning county commissioners,” Schauer continued. “However, his Complaint opens with a seventeen-page narrative that details lobbying by the casino industry, recent casino legislation, and casino executives making campaign donations to state legislators.”

“Not a single lobbyist, state legislator, or casino company is named as a defendant in this lawsuit,” the brief added. “That is because they have nothing to do with any defamation claims. Yet, as soon as Plaintiff filed the Complaint, he sent litigation-hold letters to state legislators and issued subpoenas to political advocacy groups and casino companies. The letters and subpoenas sought information — not about any defamatory statements — but about casino companies, lobbying expenses, campaign donations, and General Assembly members and staffers.”

“When Defendants eventually received the Complaint, they had to flip to the back to find where Plaintiff had mentioned them and, reading the allegations, it was obvious that Defendants did not defame Plaintiff,” Schauer wrote. “Simply put, Plaintiff had filed a lawsuit full of stories about casinos and political donations but lacking any valid defamation claims against Defendants. Why was that? Well, it seems Defendants were never the real targets of this lawsuit.”

“This lawsuit should never have been filed in the first place, and the trial court’s black-letter-law rulings do not warrant this Court’s review,” Schauer added. The individual defendants seek attorneys’ fees “for having to endure this frivolous appeal.”

The conservative political groups also attacked Travis’ suit in a court filing Wednesday.

“Plaintiff must not be rewarded for resorting to lawfare after losing an election,” their lawyers wrote. “Despite previously admitting that certain political mailers contained facts about his voting record, Plaintiff now calls them defamatory.”

The groups “have become collateral damage in Plaintiff’s attempt at retribution,” according to the court filing.

“Plaintiff characterizes this lawsuit as a defamation action that cost him an election for the Board of Commissioners of Rockingham County,” the brief continued. “However, his true motivations can be seen in the first 17 pages of his complaint, which highlight efforts at casino development. This has nothing to do with Plaintiff’s defamation claims.”

Travis defended his suit in a February state Appeals Court brief. He focused on mailers that attacked him during the 2024 primary election.

“The mailers and other publications contained specific false statements of fact about Plaintiff,” Travis’ lawyers wrote. “The Complaint alleges that Defendants falsely stated that Plaintiff: (a) voted to raise taxes, (b) voted against funding law enforcement, (c) committed criminal acts of vandalism, (d) stole campaign signs, (e) was banned from Republican Party headquarters, and (f) lied about the incumbents’ actions regarding a casino development project. Defendants also disseminated a text message calling Plaintiff a ‘LIAR’ and accusing him of concealing ‘a plan to RAISE your property taxes,’ and deceptively edited a video clip of Plaintiff to misrepresent his statements on property taxes.”

“The Complaint alleges that the defamatory campaign was motivated by Plaintiff’s opposition to a casino development project in Rockingham County championed by Senator Berger and the incumbent commissioners,” according to Travis’ brief. “Plaintiff had served on the Board of Commissioners from 2011 through 2022, stepping down voluntarily due to his belief in term limits. He decided to run again in 2024, motivated by his opposition to the casino initiative.”

“The Complaint alleges a coordinated pattern of false statements attacking Plaintiff’s honesty and fitness for the very office he sought. Taken together, these statements constitute defamation per se,” the brief added.

“Defendants blast Rockingham Co. defamation suit as anti-casino effort” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.