Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Judge Amber M. Mettler dismissed Phil Lyman's lawsuit against Richard and Carol Lyman.
- The lawsuit claimed they were paid by Gov. Cox's campaign to confuse voters.
- Phil Lyman must pay court costs, while Richard and Carol Lyman celebrated the ruling.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by former write-in gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman, who accused two candidates with the same last name of taking a payment from Gov. Spencer Cox's campaign to run for office.
Third District Judge Amber M. Mettler granted a motion from Richard and Carol Lyman to dismiss Phil Lyman's lawsuit, saying the defendants successfully argued that their actions were protected under Utah's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, which protects Utahns from being sued "based on the person's ... exercise of the right of freedom of speech."
"Here, it is undisputed that running for political office is constitutionally protected activity, and it cannot reasonably be disputed that all of the plaintiffs' claims against defendants arise from defendants running for office," Mettler wrote.
Phil Lyman, who lost to Cox in the Republican gubernatorial primary last June, refused to concede the race and launched a write-in campaign for governor. After Richard and Carol Lyman declared as write-in candidates for governor, Phil Lyman sued them, claiming they were offered "$1,000 and a steak dinner" by the Cox campaign in exchange for declaring their candidacies — which presumably could confuse voters who meant to vote for Phil Lyman.
Richard and Carol Lyman denied the allegations, and the Cox campaign previously called the claims "blatantly false."
After Phil Lyman filed his lawsuit — which sought up to $1.7 million in damages — Richard and Carol Lyman dropped out of the race on Oct. 25, agreeing to a stipulation that all write-in votes for "Lyman" would be counted toward Phil Lyman's campaign.
Richard and Carol Lyman celebrated the ruling in a statement Thursday.
"The claims in the lawsuit were categorically false," Richard Lyman said. "We had every right to run for governor and lieutenant governor and should not have been forced out by those with deeper pockets. Hopefully this is a lesson for anyone who would intimidate political candidates trying to make their communities better by (pursuing) a life of public service."
"We have always maintained that our actions were lawful and exercised in good faith," Carol Lyman said. "We appreciate the court's thorough review of the case and its fair decision."
In a statement to KSL.com, Phil Lyman said he's "disappointed but not surprised" by the outcome.
"I'm also disappointed but not surprised that the media has been unwilling to look into the inducement of Richard Lyman and his mother to run as write-in candidates," he added.
In addition to dismissing Phil Lyman's case, the judge also ordered him to pay court costs and attorney fees to Richard and Carol Lyman. The total litigation costs have not been made public, but an attorney for the Lymans said he would file an affidavit showing the costs on Friday.
It's not the first court loss for Phil Lyman. The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided not to take up his case seeking to have Cox thrown out of office, after that lawsuit was dismissed by Utah's high court.
