Civil Rights & Constitutional Law
Court dismisses defamation suit against Orange Village resident, using Ohio’s new...
December 10, 2025
Monday, June 29, 2026
Congressman Max Miller (R-OH)
Cleveland, OH – Today, Emily Moreno's counsel filed two legal filings in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas against her ex-husband, Congressman Max Miller. The dual filings include a third supplement to her anti-SLAPP dismissal motion showing that Miller's own public statements eliminate his ability to claim legal damages, along with an opposition brief dismantling his attempt to launch an intrusive, rule-flouting “fishing expedition” under the guise of limited discovery. "SLAPP" refers to Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, which Ms. Moreno asserts Congressman Miller's suit against her is.
In recent media interviews, Congressman Miller confidently proclaimed that the domestic-abuse allegations against him will have no impact on his political standing, directly contradicting the core claims of his own lawsuit. Speaking to the Akron Beacon Journal, Miller boasted, “We are going to win this election—by a lot,” and labeled questions about whether the case would harm his career “a little insulting”.
In a television interview with Spectrum News, Miller bragged that the abuse allegations are “not going to hurt me enough for me to lose an election.”
According to the third supplement to a motion to dismiss the suit filed by Moreno’s counsel, these public statements serve as explicit admissions that Miller has suffered and will suffer no actual or pecuniary damages to his career, reputation, or re-election efforts. Because proof of injury and quantifiable harm are prerequisites to sustain defamation and false-light claims under Ohio law, Miller’s own words effectively invalidate his lawsuit.
Ms. Moreno had to file two previous supplements as Miller continued a troubling course of conduct and made other admissions to media.
Moreno also filed a brief opposing Miller's supposedly "emergency" motion for "limited discovery," arguing that his sweeping request is “exactly the kind of abusive behavior that Ohio's legislature sought to curb” when it enacted the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA).
Ohio’s anti-SLAPP law mandates a complete stay on all discovery to shield citizens from expensive, punitive litigation designed to chill free speech on matters of public concern. Limited discovery is permitted only under highly narrow circumstances where a party can prove specific information is absolutely necessary to establish a prima facie (“on its face”) case and cannot be obtained by any other means.
The defense brief highlights that Miller’s proposed discovery plan is extraordinarily broad and burdensome, demanding nine hours of deposition time, extensive document production, and subpoenas aimed at third parties—including a sitting United States Senator and a foreign news corporation.
Moreno’s legal team detailed multiple critical reasons why the court should reject Miller’s so-called “emergency” discovery motion and maintain the total stay on discovery:
In the filings submitted to Judge Joy Kennedy, Moreno’s legal team emphasizes that the congressman “seems unable to stop talking in a way that supports Ms. Moreno's motion.” Rather than vindicating a legitimate legal wrong, Miller is trying to execute a “fishing expedition at Ms. Moreno’s expense” while effectively admitting he has no evidence she provided any information to the news outlet. Invoking UPEPA's prime directive to jettison meritless, free-speech-retaliatory lawsuits quickly, Moreno's counsel argues the court must reject Miller’s futile discovery efforts and proceed with the scheduled July 23, 2026 dismissal hearing.
Ms. Moreno is represented in this matter by Subodh Chandra and Emily Bohatch. The case is captioned Miller v. Moreno, et al., Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas General Division Case No. 26-138810, and is before Judge Joy Kennedy. The two filings may be found here and here.
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