Anthony Devolder lives in Gotham City which is a jurisdiction where the unanimous approval of the other council members and the mayor can fill a vacant council seat until the next scheduled city council elections. A city council member vacated his seat early, and Mr. Devolder was named to the vacated seat for five months until the next scheduled elections. Mr. Devolder decided to run for the open seat to remain on the council.

After he announced his candidacy for the upcoming election, Richard Osthoff, filed to oppose Devolder for the seat. Osthoff discovered that Devolder had engaged in some alleged questionable behavior. Devolder's campaign bio claimed he ran a foundation called Pooling Pelf for Pets, saving 4,000 dogs and cats between 2018 and 2023. But there were no social-media accounts for the organization, no IRS records, and no evidence of the charity being registered in Gotham, where Devolder claimed to have operated. The Gotham Gazette found that Pooling Pelf for Pets held one fundraiser with a rescue group in Gotham in 2020, for which he charged $100 entry. But the group that organized the event said that it never received any funds and that Devolder made up several excuses for why he did not have the money. According to the Gotham Gazette, Devolder would take checks written to his charity and cash them out under his pseudonym, Jorge Santos.

Devolder also allegedly stole money from a disabled veteran who came to him for help to fund a life-saving surgery for his dog, according to the Gotham Gazette. In May 2019, Forest Gump, who was living in a tent in central Gotham, learned that his Afghan Hound would need a $5,000 surgery. A veterinary technician told him that a man named Jorge Santos could help him raise the funds. After Pooling Pelf for Pets put together a ShowMetheMoney account that raised the money for the surgery, Devolder then refused to give Gump the money, whose dog died less than a year later. Devolder has denied the story, though the FBI is reportedly investigating the matter. "I was worried that what happened to me was too long ago to be prosecuted. Like momma always said, 'Evil is as evil does'," Gump told the Gotham Gazette.

Osthoff used all the above information in his campaign. In fact, it was the central theme of his campaign, and polling seems to indicate that it was a major reason so many people voted for him and not Devolder. Devolder lost to Osthoff in a landslide. Later it came to light that many of the things that the Gotham Gazette published and that Osthoff used in his campaign to attack Devolder's character were either completely false, exaggerated, or slightly incorrect.

what issue or issues could be presented here and what if any defenses are available to the Gotham Gazette and Osthoff?

What rules would the Court most likely use to analyze this case?

How would the Court most likely apply the rules to the facts of this case ?

What would be the Court's conclusion on this case?

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