A defamation suit filed in a California federal court by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was brought back to life in a recent ruling.
The lawsuit was initiated against Daniel DiCorcia and Justin Wunderler following a series of social media posts in which the pair were highly critical of Baffert and in which they claimed to have possession of a video that would “end” the trainer.
The case was dismissed by Judge Robert S. Huie in June when he found the allegations of Baffert’s complaint lacked an essential element of defamation. However, the order of dismissal provided Baffert could file an amended complaint. In an order entered Aug. 27, Huie partially granted and partially denied DiCorcia’s motions for dismissal of the amended complaint.
Huie’s order left intact allegations that DiCorcia and Wunderler engaged in what the order calls a “misinformation campaign publicly accusing Baffert by name of engaging in ‘blood doping’ and ‘juicing.’”
The order dismissed a portion of the complaint based on the allegation DiCorcia and Wunderler “circulate(d) a false claim that they possessed two videos that would ‘end’ Baffert’s career if published.” Separate allegations made on behalf of Bob Baffert Racing Inc. were dismissed in their entirety.
Wunderler has not participated in the case since his attorney withdrew early in the litigation. After he failed to respond to the amended complaint, on Aug. 28 Wunderler was deemed in “default” by the court clerk.
