A federal appeals court last week booted an appeal from former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice Roy Moore, asking that his $95 million lawsuit against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen be reinstated. In a 3-0 decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Moore had no claims against Cohen, due mostly to the fact that Moore signed a waiver prior to his appearance on Cohen’s show.
“This should not have been taken away from the jury,” Moore attorney Larry Klayman told Reuters. He said Moore intended to ask the full Court to review the decision.
Moore appeared on Cohen’s show, “Who is America,” in 2018, a year after losing in a U.S. Senate runoff to Doug Jones. During that race against Jones, allegations were levied against Moore that he pursued much younger women – even minors, in some allegations – when he was a young, 30-something attorney.
During his interview with Cohen, in which Moore believed he was going to receive an award for his relationship with Israel, Cohen produced an electronic wand that he claimed used new technology that could detect a pedophile. The wand, which appeared to be a standard metal detector wand used at airports and other points of entry, was made to beep when waved near Moore – an indication that he was a pedophile.
Moore attempted to preempt any possible sex-related allegations by crossing out a portion of the waiver presented to him prior to the interview that dealt with “sexually-oriented behavior.” However, the Appeals Court said that action didn’t negate the “plain language” of the waiver, which prevent Moore from filing suit.
Russell Smith, a lawyer for Baron Cohen, said in a statement: “After nearly four years of litigation, it seems Mr. Moore’s frivolous lawsuit is finally over.”
