Judge tosses defamation suit filed by ex-Parole Board chair

By DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A defamation lawsuit filed by the former chair of the Virginia Parole Board against a Richmond TV station and one of its reporters has been thrown out by a judge. Tonya Chapman filed a $7 million lawsuit against WTVR-TV and reporter Jon Burkett in March 2021. The suit alleged that two stories Burkett published about an investigation of the parole board by the state’s government watchdog agency included several defamatory statements. In her decision to dismiss the lawsuit, Richmond Circuit Court Judge Jacqueline McClenney wrote that Chapman has not alleged “actual malice” in her lawsuit.