William Shepherd, Holland & Knight

A former West Palm Beach city commissioner who claimed she was defamed by a campaign flyer produced by a political operative lost her lawsuit.

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley ruled Tuesday that the flyer, which accused Shanon Materio of having an illegal homestead tax exemption on a St. Lucie County home, was protected under free speech laws.

Materio sued political consultant Rick Asnani and two affiliated companies after losing her 2018 reelection bid to Christina Lambert by 183 votes of about 7,500 votes cast.

"Given the heightened protection afforded the exercise of First Amendment rights in the political arena, this is not enough," the judge wrote.

GrayRobinson Miami shareholder Frank Shepherd represented a national free-speech coalition including the First Amendment Foundation on an amicus brief on a previous appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

"The case has been watched nationally from the outset, and the opinion will likely have some nationwide implications in the future," he wrote Thursday.

To win her case, Materio had to prove Asnani knowingly distributed false information without regard to the truth, the court said. The statements in the flyer was arguable since Asnani used public documents to support the claims, the judge noted.

The flyer also accused Materio of receiving a $50,000 federal grant that required her to live in the home. Materio said the house belonged to her parents and nothing improper was done.

At best, Asnani demonstrated negligence in not fully investigating the matter, the judge said.

"This suit was without merit from the very beginning," Asnani told the Palm Beach Post. Since Materio controlled the house as a trustee, it did not matter that her parents lived there.

Materio said Wednesday she disagreed with the judge. "Regardless, we will review the order in detail and will determine our next steps, including an appeal, if appropriate," she told the Post.

The judge did not decide whether to award Asnani attorney fees.

"Any other outcome than dismissal would have jeopardized political speech throughout our state," said William Shepherd of Holland & Knight in West Palm Beach, who represented Asnani. "If elected officials (or former elected officials) are allowed to misuse the courts to try to silence their critics, it threatens free speech for all of us."

Associates Seth Welner and Jeff Schacknow also worked on the case.

Mark Keegan and Joseph Janssen of Janssen, Siracusa & Keegan in West Palm Beach represented Materio.

The attorneys had no comment Thursday when contacted by email while most were working remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Read the order: