Freelance journalist Michelle Deininger has asked a Third District Court judge to dismiss the defamation lawsuit former Park City School District Chief Operating Officer Mike Tanner filed against her.
Deininger wrote an article published in The Park Record in November 2024 detailing Tanner’s salary, work agreements and contracts. The article raised concerns about the amount of compensation the COO was receiving, whether “special assignment” duty contracts were repetitive and how Tanner was dividing his time.
While Tanner alleged that the article — and numerous others Deininger authored as the former news director of KPCW — portrayed a “negative message” about the COO and the school district, Deininger denies any wrongdoing and asserts her reporting was “truthful and accurate.”
“Deininger’s … reporting on the job performance and remote work arrangements of a highly compensated District executive is a matter of public concern and protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Articles 1 and 15 of the Utah Constitution,” the 12-page court filing states.
Attorneys for Tanner said in their lawsuit that the November article included “false statements of fact, manipulated figures, and distorted half-truths, patched together in a malicious attempt to damage Mr. Tanner’s reputation and livelihood.”
Tanner was employed as the school district’s COO, responsible for overseeing construction projects and security initiatives, from 2019 through March 2025. District administrators said Tanner was let go in a “reduction-in-force.” However, his lawsuit claims he was “fired” because they believed he was guilty of various types of negligence and misconduct that Deininger had alleged.
Lawyers for Tanner argued Deininger should have taken more care in confirming the details of the story. They said he was subject to “public disapproval and humiliation,” which has harmed his professional and personal reputation.
Deininger argues she “exercised the requisite degree of care and prudence in undertaking” the reporting at all times. Her reply to the lawsuit states that any alleged damages suffered by Tanner were caused “by his own negligence and/or actions and/or fault.”
The Utah Society of Professional Journalists awarded Deininger the Don Baker Investigative Journalism Award for her reporting about the COO’s work arrangements in June. Tanner filed the lawsuit the following month.
Tanner asked a judge to award compensatory damages for an amount to be determined at trial, award the costs associated with bringing the case forward and award punitive damages for Deininger’s alleged malicious intent. The Park Record is not named in the lawsuit. Deininger asked the judge to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Deininger provided communications and documents supporting the claims in her article before it was published in The Park Record. The school district threatened legal action after the November article was published, but no specific corrections were requested and district officials did not respond to questions intended to address any discrepancies.
A court hearing had not been set as of Tuesday afternoon. Attorneys for Deininger and Tanner declined to comment further.
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Source: Freelance reporter seeks dismissal of former Park City School District COO’s defamation
