Court of Appeals dismisses all but 2 allegations in Hunter vs. Crosby case
Jennifer Kraus, 19 May 2021
The Minnesota Court of Appeals Monday, May 17, dismissed 29 of 31 claims made by Crosby Mayor James Hunter against Crosby city officials — sending the remaining two back to district court for review.
Hunter, who was elected mayor in the November 2020 election, appealed the Crow Wing County District Court’s Aug. 7 decision to dismiss his defamation case. Hunter filed the defamation case Sept. 9, 2019, stating he lost his reputation, his elected office and spent over two years of his life charged with serious crimes as a result of the actions of Crosby city officials.
Hunter was first elected as mayor in November 2016 for a two-year term. He was charged in March 2017 in Crow Wing County District Court with felonies of second-degree assault, theft by swindle, receiving stolen property and unlawful gambling, and a gross misdemeanor for selling vehicle financing without a license. Hunter also was charged in August 2017 for falsely reporting a crime in a separate, related case.
Hunter resigned as mayor in August 2017. After a two-year-long court battle, all charges against Hunter — tried separately — were dismissed or he was acquitted by a jury of his peers. The case ended April 19, 2019, when the last two charges were dismissed.
Since then, Hunter filed a defamation lawsuit against the city and ran for and won the mayoral seat in the 2020 election in Crosby.
The court of appeals case was decided by Presiding Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman; Chief Judge Susan Segal; and retired Judge Edward J. Cleary. The judges filed their opinion Monday where they dismissed 29 of 31 claims in the defamation lawsuit. The other two claims are sufficient to proceed and will go back to district court to decide.
