Sayre awarded $20,000 in defamation suit against former EDA director

Tom Sayre, left, and attorney Tim Bosson outside the courthouse following awarding of $20,000 in his $25,000 defamation suit against Jennifer McDonald. Photo/Roger Bianchini

After three and a half hours of sometimes contention testimony Wednesday afternoon, shortly after 5 p.m. Judge Ian Williams awarded Shenandoah District Supervisor Tom Sayre a total of $20,000 in damages in his civil defamation lawsuit against former Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Executive Director Jennifer McDonald. Sayre was seeking the General District Court civil litigation cap of $25,000.

In addition to damages of $5,000 and punitive damages of $15,000, the judge also awarded Sayre $676 in court filing costs.

In making his ruling the Winchester-based judge accepted the plaintiff’s argument that McDonald had orchestrated a series of alleged criminal acts in 2017 targeting the EDA offices and her home property in order to deflect attention from rising suspicions about her conduct of EDA business.
“She had a reckless disregard for truth …and motive to shift public attention from herself to another public figure,” Williams said in prefacing his decision.

McDonald resigned the EDA directorship on December 20, 2018 under increased scrutiny by her EDA Board of Directors. She is the primary defendant in a $17-million EDA civil suit filed on March 26; and has been charged with 28 felony criminal indictments related to the EDA financial fraud investigation and consequent civil litigation.

McDonald attorney Lee Berlik argued that Sayre attorney Tim Bosson had failed to prove McDonald had written the note found at the scene of a June 15, 2017, rock throwing vandalism at her home. That note included the instruction “don’t call Tom” and Sayre’s work cell phone number.
The note indicated an apparent conspiracy to harass or terrorize McDonald involving Sayre, former Town Manager Michael Graham and former Royal Examiner Editor Norma Jean Shaw. All testified during the trial’s first day last month that they knew nothing of any such conspiracy.

Berlik also argued that the plaintiff had failed to show any real damage to either his reputation or income from the note’s discovery at the scene of the June 2017 vandalism.

Berlik said he and his client would discuss their right to appeal the General District Court decision to the circuit court level. They have 10 days to file an appeal. Judge Williams posted a $20,000 cash appeal bond for the defendant.

This story will be updated with additional detail in the near future.