Violet Elizabeth Grayson, Plaintiffv.Ressler & Ressler, Ellen Werther, and Bruce Ressler, Defendants
OPINION AND ORDER Violet Elizabeth Grayson (“Grayson” or “Plaintiff”) brings this action against Ressler & Ressler, a law firm, Ellen Werther (“Werther”), and Bruce Ressler (“Ressler”) (together, “Defendants”). Before the Court is Defendants’ motion to for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Doc. 144. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.I. BACKGROUND1This lawsuit centers on an August 15, 2013 meeting between Werther and Ressler and Robert Mayer (“Mayer”), counsel for the bankruptcy trustee for Grayson’s client TradeWinds Airlines (“TW Airlines”).2 At that time, Werther and Ressler represented Coreolis Holdings (“Coreolis”) and TradeWinds Holdings, Inc. (“TW Holdings”) in a veil piercing suit against George Soros (“Soros”) and Purnedu Chatterjee (“Chatterjee”), which was consolidated with TW Airlines’ similar veil piercing suit.The gravamen of Grayson’s suit against Defendants is that at Werther and Ressler’s private meeting with Mayer on August 13, 2015, one or both of them made the following defamatory comments about Grayson:Grayson was violating rules of professional ethics and conduct by representing [TW Airlines], with whom she had a conflict of interest;Because of her conflict of interest, Grayson could not handle documents or take a leading role in depositions; andGrayson did not do her fair share of work on the veil piercing cases.See Am Compl. (Doc. 97)83; see Grayson, 271 F. Supp. 3d at 514.A. Factual Background31. History of the Consolidated ActionIn 2005, Grayson represented Jet Star Airlines (“Jet Star”) in a veil piercing action against Soros and Chaterjee as owners of C-S Aviation. See Declaration of Violet Elizabeth Grayson in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (“Grayson Decl.”)5. Ultimately, that case was resolved through a settlement and confidentiality agreement, which required the parties and counsel to keep confidential “the existence, provisions, and substance of this Agreement, and the claims for relief sought against Mr. Soros and/or Dr. Chatterjee and the bases or asserted bases therefore.” Declaration of Bruce Ressler in Support of Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (“Ressler Decl.”) (Doc. 146) Ex. 26 (“Keenan Op.”), at 4-5. Years later, in 2008, TW Airlines secured a significant default judgment against C-S Aviation. Grayson Decl.
