The court allowed the case to go forward in an opinion on June 2: Press accounts, on which defendant political organization (the Senate Majority PAC) was generally entitled to rely, had said that (1) Moore "had been banned from the mall because he repeatedly badgered teen-age girls" and that (2) he had told a 14-year-old girl at the mall "she looked pretty." But the organization had apparently juxtaposed the two quotes, in a way that may have been suggested that he solicited sex from a 14-year-old girl:
- "Moore was actually banned from the Gadsden Mall … for soliciting sex from young girls." –New American Journal, 11/12/2017
- "One he approached 'was 14 and working as Santa's helper.' " –AL.com, 11/13/2017
The court had concluded that,
