Amie Villarini
v.
Iowa City Community School District
Amie Villarini—a former high school tennis coach—appealed a summary judgment ruling dismissing her defamation and wrongful termination in violation of public policy claims against a school district. On appeal, the court of appeals determined that the school district’s republication of any defamatory statements made during a school board meeting fell within the fair-report privilege and that Villarini failed to identify a well-defined public policy for her wrongful termination claim. Villarini seeks further review.
Applicant
Amie Villarini
Resister
Iowa City Community School District
Attorney for the Applicant
James K. Weston II
Attorneys for the Resister
Erek P. Sittig
Crystal K. Raiber
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
15-15-5
Apr 03, 2025 9:30 AM Drake University Law School Neal and Bea Smith Law Center 2400 University Avenue Des Moines, Iowa
Briefs
Supreme Court Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Andrew Chappell, Judge. AFFIRMED ON APPEAL AND CROSS-APPEAL. Heard by Greer, P.J., Langholz, J., and Doyle, S.J. Opinion by Langholz, J. (15 pages)
A former high school tennis coach, Amie Villarini, appeals a summary judgment ruling dismissing her defamation and wrongful-discharge claims against the Iowa City Community School District arising out of the school district’s online publication of an unabridged video of a public school board meeting, during which two students made purportedly defamatory statements about her. The school district cross-appeals the denial of its motion to amend its answer to assert a qualified-immunity defense. OPINION HOLDS: The fair-report privilege defeats Villarini’s defamation claim against the school district because the video recording is an accurate and complete report of an official proceeding. Villarini’s common-law wrongful-discharge-in-violation-of-public-policy claim fails because she has not identified a clearly defined public policy. And because the district court properly granted summary judgment on the defamation claim, the school district’s motion to amend its answer to raise an additional qualified-immunity defense was properly denied as moot.