Smith v. Hodges

OPINION

GUIDUGLI, Judge.

This case involves the application of the absolute privilege afforded to defamatory statements made by a witness in the course of a judicial proceeding. Having determined that Kentucky still follows the American Rule and that the statements at issue were relevant and pertinent to the subject of inquiry, we affirm.

On March 29, 2004, Drew W. Smith, the President and CEO of Bob Smith Chevrolet, Inc., filed suit against the company’s former finance manager, Carol Ann Hodges, seeking damages for slander based upon statements she made in a deposition taken in a federal…