The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal has ordered former Eunice Police Chief Ronald Dies to pay $10,000 each to Susan and Robbie Arnaud, owners of Robbie’s Wrecker Service, in a defamation lawsuit.
The Court reversed a ruling by District Judge Alonzo Harris made in March that rejected the defamation claims.
The ruling issued Wednesday stated that Dies, who served one term as police chief, took office on Jan. 1, 2011.
Prior to Dies, Eunice Police used a rotation system for calling wrecker services.
Dies moved to remove Robbie’s Wrecker Service from the list and told the Arnauds it was because their company’s office is outside the city limits.
The Ind, a Lafayette newspaper, reported, “But an enterprising reporter for The Eunice News, Jim Butler, noticed that Robbie’s Wrecker Service had been removed the vendor list and asked Dies about it. His response didn’t jibe with what he told the Arnauds: ‘We had numerous complaints about the firm’s selective response to calls when they came up on the rotation,’ Dies is quoted as saying in a Jan. 6, 2011 article in The Eunice News.
In March, Harris dismissed the Arnauds’ claims.
But the Appeals Court ruling said the statement attributed to Dies is defamatory “as it would tend to harm the Arnauds’ business reputation, lower their standing in the community, ad might deter individuals from doing business with them.”