I've read enough. Your defense won't hold up in civil court.
I think it's prudent to let it play out in court....this article is interesting...the plot thickens...
"In a ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Anne C. Conway denied Kinsman's motion to dismiss Winston's claim of defamation but granted one to dismiss his claim of tortious interference.
"The Court rejects Mr. Winston's argument that his tortious interference count is legally independent from his defamation claims," Conway wrote. "The tortious interference count is based squarely on the alleged defamatory statements. Throughout the tortious interference count, Mr. Winston refers repeatedly to the 'False Statements,' and the allegations in that count make abundantly clear that he contends it is the 'False Statements' that have injured his professional reputation and his prospective business relationships."
"In reality, the alleged harms about which Mr. Winston complains in his tortious interference count are consequences flowing from the alleged defamatory statements."
"Conway denied a motion from Kinsman to dismiss Winston's claim of defamation, saying that his counterclaim is "inextricably intertwined" with Kinsman's complaint and therefore not barred by a two-year time limit for defamation claims.
The unnumbered 16 1/2 page "Preliminary Statement" that precedes Mr. Winston's actual answer to the complaint is an argumentative, free-flowing narrative that attacks Ms. Kinsman and her version of events," Conway wrote."
"Frankly, it reads like a closing argument. It was obviously penned more for the consumption of the court of public opinion than for this Court and the other participants in this case. The Court cannot recall ever seeing such a remarkable and improper introduction to an answer. Structurally and legally, it is not part of Mr. Winston's answer and it has no place in his pleading."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...eis-winston-counterclaim-defamation/72324420/