In May of 2024, Brandy Austin Law firm successfully defended Baylee Higginbotham in a defamation lawsuit. This win was not only a win for Baylee, but a win for everyone who has been a victim of sexual assault, harrassment, or abuse from anyone in power. As our Texas defamation lawyer who is rated in the top attorneys by Fort Worth Magazine can share, this case highlights the hardships of those who are told to be silent or have been forcefully kept silent against their abuser.
In 2012, Baylee “Bay” Higginbotham wrote on their blog about their boss who had been inappropriate with them at work. The inappropriateness at work had eventually led to their boss taking Bay out on dates and having non consensual sex. Bay felt that they had to oblige due to their boss’s position in power. The nicer that he was to them, the easier their job was. Finally in 2017 Bay got their boss to stop the sex, but the abuse did not stop there. He still harassed Bay at work. Bay wrote about how these incidents have left them emotionally scarred and how they are still affecting them to this day. Their boss saw that their blog being up on the internet was resulting in loss of business and negative reactions from the public, and decided to file a restraining order against them. The order for the lawsuit was served on May 3rd 2022.
Defamation of character is a false statement that harms someone. It is a tortious act and can be grounds for a lawsuit. Defamation can cause someone to lose their job, money, and can harm their reputation to great extent. The Legal Information Institute says “To prove defamation of character, the plaintiff must show a false statement made by the opposing party, communication of that false statement to a third person, faulting amount to at least negligence, and damages or some harm caused to the reputation or entity who is the subject.” In this case, defamation of character is a false accusation due to the fact that everything said on the blog posted by Bay was truthful.
The trial in defense of Baylee began on May 13th 2024 and lasted two weeks. In this duration, the opposing party launched many personal attacks towards our firm, in hope that we would give into the lawsuit. We did not let this shake our team and went ahead with the defense. During this trial, Attorney Brandy Austin, Attorney Justin Wood, and Paralegal Trey Spencer presented evidence, questioned many witnesses in Bay’s favor, and fought for Bay for many days. Emails, messages, and verbal testimonies were given all supporting Bay’s abuse, sexual assault, and harrassment claims. After being presented with an ample of evidence and witness statements in favor of Bay, the jury gave the verdict in Bay’s favor and Bay walked away victorious against their abuser.
This case, unlike others, did not just speak up for Bay but spoke up and represented all those who have been taken advantage of by someone in a position of power. Especially those who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. This case represents the power of speaking up and telling people
what has happened to you. This case has raised awareness for sexual assault, harassment, and abuse by a person in power. Thanks to Baylee Higginbotham, hopefully more people will be willing to speak up. If you are facing your own situation, contact the attorneys rated in the Top 100 National Trial Lawyers at the Brandy Austin Law Firm.
