Jury Awards $120,000 to Former Valley View Teachers in Defamation Case

JONESBORO, Ark. — A Craighead County jury has awarded $120,000 in damages to two former Valley View School District teachers who said they were falsely accused of criminal conduct following their attendance at a post-election rally in Washington, D.C., in January 2021.

The unanimous verdict came Friday at the conclusion of a civil trial in which jurors found that Sean Allen defamed Nancy Best and Cindi Talbot by publicly portraying them as criminals and extremists because they attended the “Save America Rally” on Jan. 6, 2021.

Best and Talbot testified at the week-long trial that they did not enter the U.S. Capitol and were never charged with any crime. Court testimony indicated that the FBI reviewed their conduct and brought no charges.

The lawsuit stemmed from what the plaintiffs described as a sustained campaign by Allen, including online posts and formal complaints, alleging the women engaged in illegal or unethical behavior. Evidence presented at trial showed Allen contacted state education authorities and called for the women’s termination and their licenses to be revoked, accusing them of participating in criminal acts tied to the events in Washington.

Best and Talbot said the accusations led to harassment, strained personal relationships, and damage to their professional reputations.

“It’s been a five-year nightmare,” Talbot told NEA Report. “It was such a relief to finally share OUR story after being silenced for so long. Nancy and I can finally enjoy our retirement. We both retired in 2023.”

Both were represented by Robert Steinbuch of Little Rock, who told NEA Report the case was not about money.

“Either you stand up to a bully or a bully continues to bully other people, and other bullies seek to bully people,” Steinbuch said. “We have too much bullying going on because we live in a world of live bullying and cyberbullying. This case was an example of that.”

Emily Allen, originally named as a co-defendant, was dismissed from the case during the trial. Testimony indicated she acknowledged her involvement was a mistake. Steinbuch said the plaintiffs chose to show her grace.

Sean Allen testified that he did not intend for others to harass the educators and expressed regret that they were targeted by third parties. He maintained, however, that his own statements were justified and said he formed his opinions after reading a January 2021 article and reviewing the women’s social media activity.

Steinbuch said Sean Allen apologized on the stand for the plaintiffs getting “prank calls,” but did not apologize for his own actions.

“I said, ‘Do you want to apologize for your behavior?'” Steinbuch said. “He leaned into the microphone in the courthouse and said, ‘No.’ I think that had a significant effect on the jury deciding to award punitive damages and on the judge. Initially, the judge didn’t instruct on punitive damages, but after hearing the defendant cross-examined, the judge changed his mind and allowed the instruction on punitive damages.”

Attorneys for Allen argued his statements were protected under the First Amendment as expressions of opinion. Attorneys for Best and Talbot countered that Allen crossed into defamation by presenting accusations of criminal and extremist conduct as fact.

“It’s so easy to be a basement warrior or keyboard warrior where you get to sit at home and just call people names, and you’re allowed to call people names,” Steinbuch explained. “What you’re not allowed to do is accuse the plaintiffs of eight separate acts of criminal or criminal-like behavior. Those are factual assertions. When you say someone broke into my house, or committed insurrection, you’re making an allegation of fact, and that is required in a defamation case.”

Jurors ultimately awarded each plaintiff $20,000 in compensatory damages and $40,000 in punitive damages, for a total of $60,000 per person. The lawsuit initially sought significantly more serious damages. Steinbuch was skeptical on if any actual money would be recovered from the defendant, whom he said made statements about filing for bankruptcy.

Best and Talbot were also represented by Chris P. Corbitt of Conway. Sean Allen was represented by John Tull and Glenn Larkin of Little Rock. Attorneys on both sides stated they worked on the case pro bono.

Craighead County Circuit Judge Richard Lusby presided over the trial.