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Lokhova appealed that dismissal, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed both the award of sanctions and the dismissal of her lawsuit. Judge Leonie Brinkema, who had dismissed the complaint in Lokhova I, agreed, sanctioned both Lokhova and her attorney, and dismissed her second lawsuit against Halper. Halper responded to Lokhova’s second lawsuit by filing a motion for sanctions, arguing her new lawsuit was “frivolous” under Virginia law because, according to Halper, he had an “absolute litigation privilege” to send letters to the publishers of Lokhova’s upcoming book. The complaint further alleged that through the letters, Halper “defamed and disparaged” Lokhova to the publishers and falsely accused her of “knowingly publishing” statements that were “false.” Additionally, it alleged that “Halper escalated the threats and intimidation to parent company, CBS Corporation.” The complaint in Lokhova II concluded that Halper’s accusations were untrue and that “he sole purpose of Halper’s actions was to interfere with Book Contract and induce to terminate the Contract,” which it ultimately did after facing irresistible pressure from Simon & Schuster. Specifically, Lokhova’s second lawsuit alleged that “in March 2020, when Halper learned of the book” Lokhova was writing about Halper, “he directed his counsel, Terry Reed, to contact Post Hill Press and Simon & Schuster solely for the purposes of ‘quash publication and cancel the Book Contract.’” Reed then allegedly “contacted and and falsely accused of defaming Halper in the marketing materials.” In her second case, branded Lokhova II, the Russian-born British citizen, author, and academic again alleged defamation and tortious interference with contract claims. This lawsuit represents the second case Lokhova filed against Halper, with her earlier defamation case against Halper and numerous media outlets dismissed because she waited too long to sue the majority of the defendants the two timely claims failed because one isolated article was not defamatory and the final defendant was not responsible for a non-employee’s tweets.Īfter the district court dismissed her first lawsuit, Lokhova filed a second complaint in December 2020 against only Halper.