A lawsuit filed against a woman by an author of horror fiction books alleging she libeled him on Twitter in 2021 by falsely saying he had sexually harassed multiple women is “frivolous” and should be dismissed on free-speech grounds, the woman’s attorney’s argue in new court papers.
Author Matt Hayward’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against Cassie Daley, a horror book reviewer, also alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress. Hayward seeks general and special damages totaling $2.5 million, punitive damages and an injunction requiring Daley to delete the statement and not post similar remarks in the future.
“This matter concerns the egregious and completely false defamation of a highly respected and well-regarded author,” the suit filed Jan. 14 states. “Without any basis in fact, defendant Daley stated on Twitter that Hayward sexually harassed 20-plus women.”
A copy of Daley’s Dec. 8 posting is attached to the complaint. Hayward, who lives in Ireland, has suffered loss of business opportunities and harm to his reputation, according to the suit.
But in court papers filed Wednesday by Daley’s attorneys, Hayward, a well-known horror author, sent “creepy and harassing sexual messages to numerous women online,” then later apologized for doing so.
“Now, apparently upset at facing the consequences of his own actions, he has sued Ms. Daley, who reviews horror novels and is a freelance artist, for truthfully speaking out about what happened to her,” Daley’s lawyers state in their anti-SLAPP motion.
The state’s anti-SLAPP — Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — law is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
Daley’s lawyers call Hayward’s lawsuit “frivolous” and state in their court papers that the truth of Daley’s statements are evident in Hayward’s own words both publicly and in the messages he sent Daley as well as other women who came forward publicly about him sending them unsolicited sexual messages. As an author, Hayward is “at least a limited-purpose public figure” and Daley was speaking out about an issue — sexual harassment — that is ‘”inherently a matter of public interest,” Daley’s lawyers further state in their court papers.
In a sworn declaration filed July 14, Daley says she lives in Fair Oaks in Sacramento County and is a “freelance artist and horror book reviewer,” lives on a “tight budget” and posts on a blog, Instagram and Twitter about horror literature as part of a “community of horror literature enthusiasts and authors.”
Daley says the statements that Hayward maintains are libelous pertain to messages that he sent her in 2019.
“Mr. Hayward would send me creepy, sexual messages … and that he couldn’t help it because I was `just incredibly hot,”’ Daley says.
Hayward coupled his comments with “pseudo-apologies that were really excuses and often contained more creepy sexual comments in the same sentence as the apology,” according to Daley.
“These messages were, to say the least, unwelcome and made me feel very uncomfortable, but I tried to remain civil,” according to Daley.
Daley further says she later learned that other women had been sent sexual messages by Hayward, convincing her that it was important to speak out.
“I continued to receive messages about Mr. Hayward sending unsolicited sexual messages for quite some time after that,” Daley says. “In all, at least 10 people came forward to me via direct messages on social media, mostly via my old Instagram account.”
Daley also referred to a June 2020 blog post by horror author Brian Keene stating that his wife, Mary SanGiovanni, had also received inappropriate messages from Hayward.
” As with my experience, Mr. Hayward excused his behavior by saying that he had been inebriated,” Daley says. “When I found out I was being sued, I was scared and spoke to a relative who is a paralegal in Florida who told me it was important to respond to complaints. I could not afford the filing fee for my answer, so I had to raise funds to be able to afford the fee, which was difficult because I could not tell people exactly why I needed the money. I also did not know how I could get to court 400 miles away and without a place to stay in Los Angeles.”
Daley’s motion to dismiss Hayward’s case is scheduled to be heard Nov. 8 by Judge Kevin C. Brazile.