North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson during his appearance at the Republican National Convention in July. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
A former clerk at a Greensboro pornography store is asking for a lawsuit filed against him and CNN by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to be tossed out of court.
In a motion filed Wednesday, attorneys for Louis Money said Robinson’s defamation lawsuit “contains many impertinent and bizarre allegations,” that the case should be dismissed, and that a hearing should be held about the lawsuit potentially violating state law.
Money was the subject of a story in The Assembly online magazine after filming a music video about Robinson, who is running for governor, allegedly owing him $25. In an interview, he told the magazine that Robinson frequented the video pornography store at which he worked.
He was sued alongside CNN, who published an investigation into Robinson’s ties to racist and sexist online comments, on Tuesday. Robinson alleges that he was defamed.
Money’s attorneys say Robinson’s lawsuit, which requests $50 million in damages, violates state law that limits how much in damages a person can plead.
“It has to be considered that the violation of (the rule) may have been for the very purpose of creating media attention for Mr. Robinson’s campaign by creating a rambling narrative regarding CNN, Mr. Robinson, and a man who did an obscure video poking fun of Mr. Robinson for frequenting a pornography store … and for owing him $25,” the attorneys write. “Somehow, according to Mr. Robinson, that caused him $50,000,000 of damages.”
Asked for comment on the new filing, a spokesperson for Robinson’s campaign directed NC Newsline to comments made Tuesday. The campaign said Money’s claims were “completely unsubstantiated and defamatory.”
Money told NC Newsline on Tuesday that his story was true, and he laughed off the lawsuit.
“You can’t sue for me telling the truth,” Money said.