Brooks-Buck v. Wahlstrom

Holding

The decision of the circuit court overruling demurrers by the appellants to a complaint alleging defamation and defamation per se, is affirmed and the case is remanded for further proceedings. The contentions of appellants, relying on common law and statutory immunity principles, are rejected. Code § 15.2-1405 states that the “immunity granted by this section shall not apply to conduct constituting intentional or willful misconduct or gross negligence.” In their individual capacities, the appellants are not entitled to sovereign immunity from plaintiff’s claims. The immunity granted by Code § 8.01-223.2, does not apply to any statements that the declarant knew or should have known were false or were made with reckless disregard for whether they were false and, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the allegations of the amended complaint imply that the appellants either knew that the statements at issue were false, or recklessly disregarded the falsity of the statements at issue.