Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Former Chief’s Defamation Suit

A Massachusetts appellate court has affirmed summary judgment in favor of a town selectboard chair who was sued for defamation by a former fire chief following the chief’s termination. Former Stockbridge Fire Chief Chief Ernest J. Cardillo, Jr. originally filed suit against the Town’s Selectboard in federal court following his termination in 2019.

In that initial suit, Chief Cardillo alleged both federal and state law claims. Here is our earlier coverage of that suit, including a copy of the complaint. After his federal claims were dismissed in 2021, Chief Cardillo refiled his state law claims in Berkshire County Superior Court. Among the claims that survived was a defamation claim against Stockbridge Selectboard Chair Donald M. Chabon. 

The pertinent facts as explained by the Massachusetts Appeals Court are as follows: Chief Cardillo was appointed fire chief in 2012. That same year, he received an unsolicited call from a sales representative for Pioneer Products Inc., a New York company selling fire service products. He agreed to purchase four gallons of hose and gear cleaner for $229.04 and submitted the invoice to the town for payment. 

According to the court, Pioneer later informed Chief Cardillo that the favorable pricing on the original order was contingent on accepting additional shipments. He was told that if he declined future orders, Pioneer would retroactively increase the price of the first shipment. Although there was nothing in writing reflecting that arrangement, Chief Cardillo testified that he felt pressured to place another order to avoid the higher charge. 

A similar pattern followed in 2014 when Pioneer sold the department a product identified as “Fire Foam.” After that shipment, Chief Cardillo was contacted again and told he needed to purchase additional product or face retroactive price increases. He continued ordering products from Pioneer and later from a related company, Noble Industrial Supply Corp. Over time, the quantity and cost of the purchases increased substantially. 

The court noted that while the first order in 2012 was less than $300, purchases made during a two-month period in late 2016 and early 2017 totaled approximately $13,500. 

In 2018, one of the purchases drew the attention of the town administrator, leading the selectboard to retain town counsel to investigate. The resulting report concluded that Pioneer and Noble had a documented history of targeting small towns, especially fire departments, by offering products at apparently favorable prices and then pressuring departments into repeated purchases. 

The investigation also found discrepancies in purchasing records maintained by Chief Cardillo. In one instance, a $6,779 deicer purchase from Pioneer was listed on a spreadsheet as having come from Fire Tech. Another $6,780 purchase from Pioneer was recorded as coming from Meadow Farm and described as fuel. Similar discrepancies appeared in later purchases from Noble. 

Town counsel compared the prices paid by the town with market prices and concluded the town had been overcharged by at least $45,000. The report also found that the fire department had accumulated far more product than it could reasonably use, including more than a year’s supply of truck wash and as much as five years’ supply of foam. After Chief Cardillo submitted a partial inventory, the town estimated that excess products represented more than $40,000 in additional loss. 

At a public hearing on February 5, 2019, Chief Cardillo appeared with counsel and was questioned about the purchases. The court noted that he testified he did not dispute anything contained in the investigative report. At the conclusion of the hearing, two members of the selectboard voted to terminate him as fire chief effective immediately. 

Three days later, the Springfield Republican published an article reporting that firefighters had protested the termination. The article quoted Chabon as saying that Chief Cardillo had fallen victim to scammers and that his actions cost the town “around $83,000.” Chabon also stated that after realizing he had been taken advantage of, Chief Cardillo tried to conceal the purchases and “changed the books.” 

Chief Cardillo sued, alleging those statements were defamatory and caused emotional distress. The trial court rejected both claims, and the Appeals Court agreed. On the cost estimate, the court held that the statement that the town lost “around $83,000” was consistent with the figures adopted by the selectboard—approximately $45,000 in overcharges plus about $40,000 in excess inventory. Even if the precise number was not mathematically exact, the court found the statement substantially true. 

The court reached the same conclusion regarding the statement that Chief Cardillo “changed the books.” It pointed to undisputed evidence that purchasing spreadsheets misidentified vendors and inaccurately described certain purchases after he became aware of the problems involving Pioneer and Noble. 

Because the statements were substantially true, the court held that Chief Cardillo could not establish falsity, an essential element of defamation. The court also concluded that he failed to show actual malice, noting that Chabon’s statements were consistent with the investigative findings that Chief Cardillo had accepted at the hearing. 

Here is a copy of the decision.