Michael Tanner’s request to appeal the reduction in scope of his ongoing lawsuit against freelance journalist Michelle Deininger was denied Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The petition challenged 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik's June 12 ruling that Tanner could not sue Deininger over her November 2024 story published by The Park Record.
The story raised concerns about Tanner’s compensation package while he served as the chief operating officer at the Park City School District. It also questioned his authorization to work remotely during construction and district controversies. Tanner’s lawsuit alleges the story was inaccurate and contributed to the loss of his job.
Tanner’s appeal request sought a reversal of Mrazik’s decision on the grounds that the judge shouldn’t have analyzed statements in the 2024 story individually rather than in full context. They cited a 2025 Utah Supreme Court ruling that found a court can’t evaluate defamatory meaning “by viewing individual words in isolation.”
The Utah Court of Appeals denied Tanner’s mid-trial petition under a rule requiring an appellant to show a lower court’s ruling infringes on their legal rights and could change the case’s outcome.
While Tanner can’t sue Deininger over what she wrote for The Park Record, the lawsuit over her Facebook posts continues.
Court papers say Deininger told another Facebook user, “Tanner told a City Hall employee he wanted to kill me.” She also said, “Park City police got involved, and it escalated to the Attorney General’s office, who confirmed it and directed him to have no contact.”
In another Facebook post, Deininger alleged a whistleblower sent a letter to the district with three new allegations against Tanner. She said district officials notified several employees and some media that the allegations were true, “but later, two employees shared that fear of Tanner led some to ‘downplay’ facts and not divulge everything they knew.”
In a third post, Deininger said Tanner “lied for years that military duties required remote work.”
Deininger’s attorney Jeff Hunt told KPCW he believes “that speech is also protected under the First Amendment and look forward to defending those statements in court."
Tanner has denied these statements. Mrazik’s June 12 ruling said Tanner and his attorneys had proven they were false and could be considered defamatory.
Tanner’s attorney Ryan Bell said his team also looks forward to presenting a case over the Facebook comments. Bell said Tanner’s focus “has always been on restoring a reputation that was unfairly tarnished by Ms. Deininger’s false statements.”
A final decision on whether the posts were defamatory won’t be issued until the case returns to the district court. As of Thursday, no hearing dates have been set.
Tanner’s defamation suit seeks at least $300,000 in damages from Deininger; he did not sue The Park Record.
