Former Derry Town Councilor, former Prosecutor for the town of Londonderry Kevin Coyle continues to fight accusations after backlash from a story published by the Derry News and Eagle Tribune regarding the home of Air Force Veteran, Larry Reimer earlier in 2017, and resulting inflammatory comments being made about him online.
Nutfield News reported on this in August 3rd’s issue, and now Coyle has proceeded to file a complaint against the Derry News, the Eagle Tribune, and Bringing Derry Together for accusing him of making false statements and implying effort in doing so for monetary gain.
In summary, Coyle had questioned the fact-checking behind the article on his public access television show, “Up Close and Political,” stating that he had hoped that those involved in the vetting process of Reimer, “had done their homework” before representing to the community what was reported. It was this comment that had resulted in the adverse reaction and commentary surrounding the notion that Coyle had lied about Reimer’s land interest and the fact that Reimer had a son that led Coyle to pursue legal action against the aforementioned.
As of April 2nd, Coyle has submitted a complaint to the Rockingham Superior Court with intent to set such action in motion.
According to this formal complaint, no retractions have been issued by the defendants, and defamatory articles and commentary are still posted on respective websites, as well as on the Facebook page for “Bringing Derry Together.”
In his formal complaint, Coyle states that the defendants, “…continue to publish this article recklessly, wantonly, maliciously, and without privilege of any kind.” He further stated that once the defendants were provided with documentation supporting Coyle’s questioning they, “failed to issue a retraction or remove articles from the aforementioned websites to stop the defamatory impact on Mr. Coyle…in spite of assurances to Mr. Coyle that they would issue a retraction and a policy by Lague on BDT that would not tolerate the vitriolic comments on its Facebook page.”
The complaint further mentions that Coyle has been referred to as a slew of inflammatory things such as, “deplorable,” “land-hungry,” a “slimy Republican degenerate,” etc and had also been told to “resign.”
The complaint further states that acts considered to be wanton, malicious, or oppressive in any way, compensation to the plaintiff are warranted, and reiterates that the commentary in question was made intentional disregard for Coyle’s rights, and therefore warrants legal action.
As a result of this lawsuit, Coyle requests that the court order defendants to remove all online publications containing defamatory remarks, award Coyle reasonable attorney’s fees and compensatory damages, and further relief as the Court deems reasonable.
No official court date has been set at the time of this publication, and more information will be reported on as this story develops.