Washington judge dismisses COVID misinformation case filed by John Stockton, RFK Jr.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A federal judge in Washington dismissed a lawsuit on Wednesday filed by former NBA player John Stockton and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that aimed to block a state investigation into two doctors accused of spreading COVID misinformation.

The lawsuit was filed in March in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington against Washington Medical Commission Executive Director Kyle Karinen and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

In Wednesday’s decision, Washington Circuit Court Judge Thomas O. Rice granted Attorney General Ferguson’s motion to dismiss the case — a decision the plaintiff’s attorneys intend to challenge.

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The case stemmed from the Washington Medical Commission’s investigations into Dr. Thomas Siler and Dr. Richard Eggleston, who are accused of spreading misinformation about COVID.

The commission charged Dr. Siler and Dr. Eggleston with unprofessional conduct for spreading COVID misinformation in a newspaper and online opinion columns.

Former NBA star John Stockton got involved in the lawsuit because he knew Eggleston and has a history of involvement with medical issues since his Utah Jazz days, Todd Richardson — one of the plaintiff’s attorneys — told KOIN 6 News. From there, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became involved in the case, listed as an attorney of record.

“The doctors’ articles included false claims that vaccines are unsafe and COVID tests are inaccurate, as well as lauding alternative treatments that are scientifically proven to be ineffective and even potentially dangerous,” the Washington State Attorney General’s office said in a press release.

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“Adding famous names to a baseless lawsuit can’t change what it is,” Ferguson said. “If you want to practice medicine in Washington, you just play by the rules. These doctors must face the medical commission and answer for their actions.”

The doctors have not been sanctioned by the commission as the proceedings are ongoing, officials said.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs told KOIN 6 News they intend to bring the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and may escalate the case to the Supreme Court.

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In a statement, Rick Jaffe, one of the attorneys representing the doctors and Stockton, said:

We were of course disappointed, but not surprised by the judge’s decision. I don’t think there’s ever been an appellate court decision in this country which has held or suggested that a medical board has the right to sanction or censor physicians for their public speech.

The judge’s decision was based on some technical grounds. We hope and expect the 9th circuit to recognize the right of physicians to speak out in public against the mainstream Covid narrative, and the right of the public to hear this information, even if the medical commission thinks the information is false and dangerous. This is not me saying so, it’s the courts.

So much of what has been put out by the CDC and other authorities has turned out to be wrong, or different from approaches used in other countries, with better outcomes. So, while we have the greatest respect for Judge Rice, [who] by the way is a judicial hero, we don’t think this is going to be the last word in the case.

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The attorney general’s office said this lawsuit is not the first to try to stop the health commission’s investigations.

Dr. Eggleston was part of another lawsuit against the commission in 2023 before the same judge seeking the same relief, officials said. Judge Rice also dismissed that case – which did not include Stockton or Kennedy as plaintiffs.

A third doctor, Daniel Moynihan – who court records identify as a volunteer with Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense organization – was a plaintiff in that case and Robert F. Kennedy was an attorney of record.

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The Washington Medical Commission charged Eggleston with unprofessional conduct in 2022 because of newspaper articles he wrote about COVID, which “minimized the deaths from the virus, falsely states that COVID tests are inaccurate and that vaccines to combat the virus are harmful and ineffective, and claimed anti-parasitic drug ivermectin is a safe, effective treatment for COVID-19,” the attorney general’s office said – noting Eggleston has filed several unsuccessful lawsuits in state and federal court attacking the investigation.

Officials said a hearing has not been held yet on the accusations against Eggleston before the commission.

The commission charged Siler with unprofessional conduct in 2023 after receiving complaints about his blog posts that included false statements about the risk of contracting COVID, the effectiveness of ivermectin, and antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus, that vaccines are not safe and the kids cannot spread the virus, officials said.

Siler’s case is also ongoing.

KOIN 6 News reached out to the Washington Medical Commission. This story will be updated if we receive a response.

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