Awad v. Reilly

• Decision Date: 29 December 2022
• Docket Number: 357544,357550
• Parties: NADIA AWAD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CHARLES REILLY, Defendant-Appellee NADIA AWAD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CHARLES REILLY and CYNTHIA CASAGRANDE REILLY, Defendants-Appellees
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan (US)

NADIA AWAD, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
CHARLES REILLY, Defendant-Appellee

NADIA AWAD, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
CHARLES REILLY and CYNTHIA CASAGRANDE REILLY, Defendants-Appellees

Nos. 357544, 357550

Court of Appeals of Michigan

December 29, 2022

UNPUBLISHED

Wayne Circuit Court LC No. 20-002929-CZ, 20-010668-CZ

Before: CAVANAGH, P.J., and K. F. KELLY and GARRETT, JJ.

PER CURIAM

In Docket No. 357544, plaintiff appeals as of right an order granting summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) in favor of defendant, Charles Reilly (Charles), on plaintiff's claims of defamation, public disclosure of private facts, false-light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In Docket No. 357550, plaintiff appeals as of right the same order, which granted summary disposition in favor of defendants, Charles and Cynthia Reilly (Cynthia), on plaintiff's civil conspiracy claim. We affirm in both cases.

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I. BACKGROUND

In 2009, plaintiff, who worked in the mortgage industry and was known as Nadia Ali at the time, was charged with (1) use of false pretenses to defraud in the amount of $20,000 or more, MCL 750.218(5)(a); (2) second-degree money laundering, MCL 750.411n; (3) conspiracy to commit a legal act in an illegal manner, MCL 750.157a; and (4) false statements of financial condition, MCL 750.219. In March 2009, the Detroit News and the Arab American News released articles, which stated that plaintiff had been charged with crimes in relation to "mortgage fraud." One of the articles reflected that plaintiff faced up to 20 years' imprisonment.

The Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation initiated proceedings against plaintiff. On July 19, 2009, a consent order was entered which prohibited plaintiff "from being employed by, an agent of, or control person of a licensee or registrant under the [Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, and Servicers Licensing Act (MBLSLA), MCL 445.1651 et seq.,] or a licensee or registrant under a financial licensing act." Plaintiff ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the 19th District Court, and the felony charges were dismissed. Plaintiff was sentenced to a term of probation. Thereafter, plaintiff got married and changed her last name to Awad.

Subsequently, plaintiff, Charles, and Cynthia all became residents of Woodcreek Park Subdivision in Flat Rock, Michigan (the subdivision). Charles and Cynthia are married. Plaintiff was a member of the subdivision's board of directors (the board) for a period of time. While plaintiff was a board member, plaintiff's criminal history was discovered. In 2017, Charles posted on Facebook that "[o]ne of the current board members was charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit false pretenses and money laundering in 2009." Plaintiff contacted Oakland County Community Corrections about Cynthia, who worked as a community corrections specialist, and expressed concerns that Cynthia had improperly used the law enforcement information network (LEIN) to obtain information about plaintiff's criminal history. An investigation commenced. It was determined that Cynthia had not searched the name "Nadia Awad" through the LEIN system; instead, she obtained information about plaintiff's criminal history through a neighbor and confirmed the information through the 19th District Court. Thereafter, in August 2017, plaintiff applied to set aside her misdemeanor conviction and, in December 2017, the application was granted.

In March 2019, an election for the board was scheduled to be held. Cynthia planned to run for a position on the board. An unnamed board member posted negative comments about Cynthia on Facebook before the election. On February 27, 2019, Charles posted, in relevant part, the following on the "Woodcreek Park Homeowner Association" (the association) Facebook page:

Two years ago, multiple neighbors mentioned a board member had been charged with mortgage fraud. I googled it, and found information in multiple articles, including a mugshot of the person in question. There was an article by Debbie Schlussel a Detroit News article and a consent order of prohibition pursuant to section 18a of the mortgage brokers lenders and services licensing act (signed by the person) prohibiting the person from being employed by, an agent, or control person of a licensee or registrant under the MBLSLA, or registrant under a financial license. The person, who was accused of conspiring with two others, faced up to 20 years in prison on multiple charges, which included conspiracy to commit false

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pretenses, and money laundering. (Detroit News column) .... After seeing all the articles, I felt obligated to share this information with my neighbors. I do not want a person like that anywhere near my money, and I assumed other neighbors would agree. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I was attacked for posting it even though the person's name was never divulged and the information was factual. My wife was running for a seat on the board at that time, so I was accused of using that to get my wife voted in. No. I just didn't want my money handled by the criminal above..... The person arrested for the above charges actually went to my wife's employer and alleged that she misused her position to find this information. That really takes some gall! My wife, who works as a pre-trial investigator with an immaculate record, being accused by someone arrested for a felony with up to 20 years in prison.... Further, the person alleged that my wife defamed her.... You cannot defame someone if the information is true. They may not like it, but it is very much public information and factual. The employer investigated and dismissed the complaint....

In February 2020, plaintiff filed suit against Charles, alleging claims of defamation, public disclosure of private facts, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiff alleged that Charles's February 2019 Facebook post "falsely suggested that Plaintiff had been convicted of a felony" and that her misdemeanor conviction was expunged in December 2017. Charles generally denied liability and filed affirmative defenses, alleging his statements were true and a matter of public record. To support the affirmative defenses, Charles attached (1) the Detroit News article, (2) the Arab American News article, (3) a Wayne County register of actions, which outlined plaintiff's 2009 charges, and (4) the consent order. Charles later moved for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(8) (failure to state a claim) and (C)(10) (no genuine issue of material fact). Plaintiff opposed the motion.

At some point, plaintiff obtained information supporting that in January 2017, Cynthia searched the name "Nadia Ali" in the LEIN system. On August 19, 2020, plaintiff filed suit against...