Former advocacy group director sues Kevin O'Leary and Fox over Stratos comments

Taylor Knuth, a former director of Alliance for a Better Utah, has filed a defamation lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Utah against Kevin O'Leary and Fox News Network LLC, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Knuth seeks unspecified damages. The claims in the suit are allegations. ^[1]

The complaint alleges O'Leary made unsubstantiated claims that opponents of his proposed Stratos data center project in Box Elder County were working for the Chinese government. It says he first named Knuth on May 11 on Fox Business, saying he was "calling out Taylor" and that the groups were "proxies for the Chinese government," and made similar accusations 10 more times in 23 days. The complaint says Knuth's job leads dried up and the stress affected his health. ^[1]

It is the second lawsuit against O'Leary and Fox since July. The earlier plaintiffs were Joshua Kanter, Alliance for a Better Utah, consultant Gabrielle Finlayson and her company, Elevate Strategies. O'Leary retracted his claims on June 25, and Fox programs issued corrections. Last month O'Leary and Fox asked a court to dismiss the first suit, arguing no reasonable viewer would take the statements as fact. ^[1]

Fox News Media said it corrected the record on every program where the comments appeared and will defend against the lawsuit. Knuth's attorney said he does not intend to comment now. O'Leary's representatives did not respond to the Tribune, and no defendant had filed a response to the new complaint. ^[1]