Shelby Trustee's Defamation Lawsuit Against Resident to Proceed

A libel and defamation lawsuit filed by Shelby Township Trustee Lisa Manzella against township resident Michael Ward will proceed after a judge denied Ward’s motion to dismiss the case.

Macomb County Circuit Judge Matthew Switalski rejected Ward’s request to dismiss the case on the basis that it lacked merit, the judge said in an opinion released Monday.  He also denied Ward’s second motion, which was to have Manzella pay his attorney fees.

The case will now proceed. The next phase will be discovery, which involves depositions and sending subpoenas.

“I think she (Lisa Manzella) is pleased but not surprised that the case is proceeding. It’s the same reaction I had when I got the opinion,” said Manzella’s attorney Vincenzo Manzella.

Lisa Manzella filed the lawsuit against Ward in January seeking damages in excess of $25,000. She claims the seven recall petitions Ward filed against her—although, only one made it through–were defamatory.

Ward's petitions accused her of being “pro police” with her September vote against a one-year contract for Police Chief Robert Leman. Ward claims the police department helped her cover up a 2005 single-car crash in which she had been drinking, according to police reports. According to a police report, Manzella took a breathalyzer and was under the legal limit to drink and drive.

Vincenzo Manzella said the statements in the recall that “Lisa Manzella has alcohol issues and is a danger to township residents and their property when she drives a motor vehicle” are not true and the legal action against Ward does not stem from the fact that he filed a recall, but the libelous and slanderous language used in the recall petition.

“Defamation by its definition is a personal attack on someone,” said Vincenzo Manzella. “He (Ward) is going to be found civilly responsible for his reckless acts.”

Vincezo Manzella, who is related to Lisa Manzella by marriage, said he wouldn’t have taken the case on if he didn’t think there was a good chance of winning.

“We’re very confident that the facts are on our side, and we fully expect to prevail at some point,” Ward’s attorney Bob Beaupre previously told Patch.