Actress’ suit against Trump gone

A district judge tossed adult film actress Stormy Daniels' defamation lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump Monday, finding an April tweet was non-actionable trash-talk.

The tweet, in which Trump appeared to undermine Daniels' claims of being threatened into silence about their alleged affair by a purported Trump associate, is protected under Texas' robust anti-SLAPP laws, U.S. District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles wrote in his order dismissing Daniels' case.

Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, asked Otero to follow defamation laws of New York, where anti-SLAPP laws are comparatively limited, as it's the state where Trump declares residence. Otero acknowledged the case was initially filed in the Southern District of New York -- and following New York's choice-of-law principles, he said Texas law should govern.

In transferred defamation cases, where the apparent injury isn't limited to one state, Otero said courts are instructed to look to the state with the most significant interest in the litigation. That's typically the home state of the plaintiff -- in this case, Texas.

And under The Texas Citizens Participation Act, Daniels' argument "crumbles," Otero wrote. He said Trump's tweet constitutes "rhetorical hyperbole" but not defamation.

First Amendment litigator Ken White said the court ruling follows an apparent legal trend, where judges have seen Trump's tweets as bluster rather than fact.

"Trump's tweet had all the hallmarks of opinion," White said. "It was on the notoriously elbow-throwing Twitter. It was from a trash-talking president. It was couched in argumentative terms, and it was in the context of a bare-knuckle political dispute."

Otero dismissed without leave to amend, reasoning it' is impossible to turn the tweet into an actionable statement. He granted Trump counsel Charles Harder of Harder LLP's request for attorney fees.

Harder said Monday the amount to be awarded would be "determined at a later date."

"No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, Mr. Avenatti, can truthfully characterize today's ruling in any way other than total victory for president," Harder wrote in an email."We will appeal the dismissal of the defamation cause of action and are confident in a reversal," Avenatti said in a tweet.