Bloggers beware

Bayou Gauche activist hit with defamation suit over library forum posts

Anyone that logs onto the Internet to share their opinions on the River Parishes forum at NOLA.com might have seen posts from BGMAW, otherwise known as Gwen Dufrene.

Dufrene is a Bayou Gauche resident who thinks  that St. Charles Parish shouldn’t be building a new East Bank Regional Library in Destrehan.

Some of the posts concerning the library have landed Dufrene in trouble and are mentioned in a defamation suit against her, which was filed by the library’s architect Norman Chenevert.

In court documents dated Nov. 12, Chenevert’s attorney lists River Parishes forum posts that were made by Dufrene on NOLA.com  as part of his client’s defamation suit, stating the posts severely damaged Chenevert’s “good reputation.”
“I only said the facts,” Dufrene said. “I researched the issue of one of the NOLA.com posts and on March 15 he claims that I made a post about him, but I mention his name only in connection with library documents where his name already appears.”

Another forum post sited in Chenevert’s defamation suit was allegedly written by Dufrene on May 4. According to court documents, the May 4 post alleges that Dufrene refers to Chenevert as being deceptive.

“When I mention his name, it was a quote that I took from library board minutes,” she said. “I don’t refer to Mr. Chenevert as being deceptive, but I refer to the way the project was handled as being deceptive, based on the library minutes I have dated Nov. 16, 2004.”

Dufrene said that she will continue to post on the NOLA.com forum.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “Everything I posted was based on documentation and what I believe to be facts and this is just an attempt by Mr. Chenevert to silence me.”

 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply