Defamation suit brought against NHPR by recovery center founder dismissed 'with prejudice'

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

Jan. 21—A Rockingham Superior Court judge issued a final order dismissing — with prejudice — a defamation suit brought by the founder of Granite Recovery Centers against New Hampshire Public Radio and several of its journalists.

In April, Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Daniel St. Hilaire rejected claims by Eric Spofford, the founder of Granite Recovery Centers and one of the most influential people in the state's battle against the drug epidemic, that a March 2022 report on allegations of sexual misconduct, abusive leadership and retaliation by him was based on sources that are unreliable or biased against him.

Biases and motives to lie are not fatal to the credibility of the sources, St. Hilaire wrote.

"If anything, the fact that (former Human Resources Director Nancy) Bourque, (former Chief Operating Officer Brian) Stoesz, and (former Director of Spiritual Life Piers) Kaniuka all appear to have quit or were fired from GRC in connection with these sexual misconduct allegations lends credence to their accounts," the judge wrote.

St. Hilaire granted requests by NHPR, Bourque and Justin Downey, a person quoted in the article, to dismiss the suit. But he said Spofford was free to change his complaint to add facts that would show actual malice and submit it within 30 days.

Spofford requested nearly 3,000 documents detailing NHPR's reporting on the story after reviewing them confidentially as part of efforts to prove "actual malice," but in a Dec. 13, 2023, order St. Hilaire said he saw no evidence to back up the claim.

St. Hilaire said the documents "reflect professional and diligent reporting, and are totally devoid of any evidence that the NHPR defendants had reason to doubt the truth of their publication."

"While Spofford maintains the accusations against him are baseless and entirely fabricated," St. Hilaire wrote the documents "contain absolutely no evidence of falsity."

"On this record, Spofford has no viable basis to sue NHPR or their sources for defamation," St. Hilaire wrote.

St. Hilaire said Spofford was free to amend his original defamation complaint within 30 days, putting the new deadline at Jan. 12.

"That deadline has now passed," St. Hilaire wrote in a Jan. 18 order. "The expiration of the amendment deadline necessitates dismissal of this action with prejudice."

Several organizations, including the Union Leader Corp., New England First Amendment Coalition, Caledonian Record and ACLU-New Hampshire filed briefs in support of NHPR in the case.