Extension granted in defamation lawsuit

COEUR d’ALENE — A North Idaho blogger sued for defamation after falsely accusing a drag performer of indecent exposure has failed to respond to the lawsuit.

Kootenai County resident Eric Posey performed June 11 at the Pride in the Park celebration in Coeur d’Alene.

The next day, blogger Summer Bushnell published an edited video of Posey’s performance on her Facebook page, The Bushnell Report. Posey’s pelvic area is blurred out in the edited video, implying nudity.

Bushnell claimed that Posey exposed himself to the crowd and called for his arrest, urging the public to contact police.

Coeur d’Alene police said none of the people who contacted them had watched the performance firsthand. Instead, they saw Bushnell’s edited video.

After reviewing the edited footage, as well as other unedited videos and photos, the Coeur d’Alene City Prosecutor’s Office declined to file charges.

“The unedited recordings did not depict any exposure of genitalia,” said a news release issued July 1. “The allegations of indecent exposure or other crimes cannot be supported by the evidence.”

Bushnell told the Idaho Statesman that she did not attend Pride in the Park and received the unedited video from someone she declined to identify.

She also confirmed that she added the blur, though she maintained that the unedited footage is too graphic for her to share on social media.

Posey filed a lawsuit against Bushnell on Sept. 26, saying she defamed him.

The suit seeks monetary damages from Bushnell in excess of $10,000, as well as compensatory damages and attorney’s fees. Posey said he’s lost professional opportunities due to Bushnell’s false accusations.

Court documents contend that Bushnell knew her accusations were false because she possessed and viewed the unedited footage of Posey’s performance, which showed no nudity.

Under Idaho law, respondents in civil cases have 21 days from the date of service to file an answer with the court.

When a respondent fails to plead or otherwise defend during that window, the petitioner may ask the court to enter a default judgment.

Court records indicate that Bushnell had not filed an answer to the suit by Wednesday — 28 days after she was served.

Bushnell did not return a phone message Wednesday requesting comment, but emailed The Press Thursday to say she had been granted an extension.

The Press confirmed with Posey’s attorneys Thursday that they have agreed to extend Bushnell’s deadline to file an answer until Nov. 8.

On her Bushnell Report website, Bushnell asked readers this week for donations for a "legal defense fund."

Bushnell had received around $4,300 in donations as of Wednesday.

She also repeated the allegation of indecent exposure on the website, when asking for the donations.

“A careful examination of the video I published shows that during one part of the performance (Posey) appears to have had a ‘wardrobe malfunction,’ exposing his genitals to minors,” Bushnell wrote.

This story has been updated to reflect a correction.