He claimed 10 women defamed him on “Are we dating the same guy?” website. An L.A. court is skeptical

Dating can be difficult. What if we stand you up? What if you’re not compatible? What if you receive a fake phone number?

And then there’s the case of Stewart Lucas Murrey, who sued a group of women after they talked about him in a private Facebook group, warning others about his bad behavior on dating apps.

The lawsuit names ten women as defendants, but a Los Angeles Superior Court judge recently dismissed the case against one of them. Murrey vows to continue the legal dispute.

Murrey, a Santa Monica resident, said his social status has taken a hit because of comments made by women he claims to have met through dating apps. Her June 2023 lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, accused the women of defamation and sought $2 million in damages. He claims gender discrimination because he was unable to join the Facebook group to respond to complaints against him and alleges civil conspiracy.

Murrey said he was called a murderer and the women accused him of having a sexually transmitted infection, according to his complaint.

On Monday, Judge Gregory Keosian dismissed Murrey’s lawsuit against a woman after she filed an anti-SLAPP motion, which targets lawsuits aimed at censoring, intimidating and silencing critics.

Murrey’s trial centers on the Facebook group “Are We Dating the Same Guy?” –Los Angeles. The group has iterations across the United States. The first began in 2022, according to online magazine Glamor, serving as a “whisper network” to help women navigate the dating scene in their cities. The Los Angeles group was not created specifically to discuss Murrey, but it was the subject of a discussion thread, according to court records.

The women in the Los Angeles-based Facebook group shared in a post what they described as negative experiences with Murrey, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by the defendants to pay for legal fees.

One woman shared the story of an exchange she allegedly had with Murrey after the two met on the app Tinder. He insisted on meeting her that evening, but she was busy, according to a screenshot of his comment. Murrey allegedly found her Instagram page and met her at a Beverly Hills hotel bar, where she was having a business meeting.

Another woman, Vanessa Valdes, threatened to report Murrey when he allegedly insulted her during a message conversation on the dating app Hinge, according to a series of screenshots shared in her anti-SLAPP motion.

“I will subpoena (sic) you idiotic ‘report’ and possibly sue you for defamation,” Murrey wrote in response, according to screenshots produced for the anti-SLAPP motion.

“By the way, real honest women love me lol,” Murrey added.

More than 50 women wrote about him in the private Facebook group and were called co-conspirators in a “large-scale conspiracy to create a false social consensus online,” according to Murrey’s lawsuit.

Keosian dismissed all claims against Valdes during a hearing Monday on his anti-SLAPP motion and found no evidence of conspiracy. Legal experts say it’s likely the other parties named in the lawsuit will enjoy similar success.

Valdes’ messages “involved a matter of public concern: the safety of women from male violence and harassment,” Keosian wrote in his decision. In a message posted to the Facebook group, Valdes wrote: “I’m so glad we’re looking out for each other. »

“It feels really good to be dismissed on all counts – it wasn’t just the two counts of defamation, but the 11 counts he filed against me,” Valdes told KTLA after the hearing.

Murrey posted his response to Monday’s ruling on a blockchain social media platform and on his personal website. He claimed he didn’t know Valdes outside of their one interaction on the Hinge app and called her a cyberbully who shared his personal information online.

“This behavior should not be normalized and I challenge each person in their different roles,” Murrey said, vowing to pursue legal action.

This isn’t the first time Murrey has filed a lawsuit accusing a woman of causing him emotional distress. In 2019, he sued a woman he met on Tinder, making similar defamation allegations.

Murrey represented himself in his latest trial. Several other named defendants will have anti-SLAPP hearings in this case soon, and Murrey will have the opportunity to appeal the court’s recent decision.

Malpractice attorney Frances O’Meara, who is not affiliated with Murrey’s lawsuit, said that in an anti-SLAPP motion, the court must first determine whether a person is being sued while exercises his right to freedom of expression. If so, the onus is on the person bringing the suit, and the question is whether the claim has little merit.

California was the first state to pass an anti-SLAPP law, in 1992, to target lawsuits that abuse the justice system.

“The law then expanded to situations where people file lawsuits simply to silence other people when they certainly have a right to speak,” O’Meara said.

Any time people say something on the Internet, they run the risk of being sued, said attorney Jeffrey Lewis, who is not affiliated with the Murrey case.

To succeed in his defamation suit, Murrey would have had to prove that the statements made about him were false and that he suffered harm, Lewis said.

“Defamation suits are very difficult, unlike small claims related to a breach of contract case or someone owing you money,” Lewis said. “People get sued all the time for saying things on Facebook, but a group of women posting about a dating experience with a man, and he decides to respond with legal action? This is very unusual.