Auon’tai Anderson ordered to pay $61K in legal fees for defamation lawsuit

Rob Low
·2 min read
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DENVER (KDVR) — Auon’tai Anderson, a former outspoken Denver Public Schools board member, has been ordered to pay more than $61,000 in legal fees after a defamation case he filed backfired.

In 2021, Anderson sued Black Lives Matter 5280, along with a group of activists and DPS parents, because he said they knowingly and willfully published false allegations he committed sexual assault.

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The school district investigated and could not confirm the claims made against Anderson, but it did find he engaged in flirtatious and questionable social media contact with a 16-year-old DPS student.

In 2022, a Denver District Court judge dismissed Anderson’s case against BLM 5280 because the judge found Anderson had no case, ruling BLM 5280 did not act with malice or reckless disregard for the truth when it released its statement.

Auon'tai Anderson
Auon'tai Anderson

Anti-SLAPP law used against Auon’tai Anderson

Since the case was dismissed, the defendants filed a motion asking for their legal fees to be reimbursed under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law — short for strategic lawsuits against public participation — which seeks to deter frivolous lawsuits.

The judge agreed and ordered Anderson to pay BLM 5280 and Amy Brown — an activist affiliated with the group — $61,060 for attorney fees and costs incurred.

Anderson told the Problem Solvers he may appeal.

“I continue to be appalled by the actions of this organization and the false statements they made about me on their social media platforms in 2021,” Anderson said in a statement. “I believe that the members of this organization are detrimental to the community and should be reintegrated into spaces dedicated to the ongoing liberation of the Black community.”

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Legal experts told FOX31 that Anderson can only appeal the amount he owes, not the fact that he owes the defendants money for their legal fees. But if Anderson were to appeal, he might dig a deeper hole for himself, because he could then be on the hook for the additional appellate legal, which the defendants would be owed were he to lose the appeal.

Legal experts told the Problem Solvers that if Anderson doesn’t appeal in 49 days or agree to pay the $61,060, he might have to declare bankruptcy.

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