Briana’s Teen Mom Lawsuit: Dismissal, Fee Award, and Responses

Kailyn Lowry’s defamation suit against her Teen Mom 2 costar Briana DeJesus ended in dismissal on April 18, 2022, when a Florida judge granted DeJesus’s anti-SLAPP motion and ruled that the challenged statements were substantially true. Lowry, ordered to pay her costar’s legal fees, ultimately paid more than $100,000. The Briana DeJesus Teen Mom lawsuit is one of the more consequential anti-SLAPP outcomes to come out of the franchise’s off-screen feuds.¹²

What Lowry Sued Over

Lowry filed the complaint on June 25, 2021, in Osceola County, Florida, under case number 2021-CA-1817-OC in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.³⁴ She targeted statements DeJesus made in a June 2021 Celebuzz interview and across her social media accounts, which reached more than a million followers.

According to the complaint, DeJesus falsely claimed Lowry had “physically beat” Chris Lopez, the father of two of Lowry’s children, and “broke into and entered the home of Mr. Lopez’s mother.”³⁵⁶ Lowry said the statements caused her “personal humiliation and mental anguish” and threatened her livelihood. She sought $30,000 in damages, attorney fees, and a jury trial.⁷

The Arrest That Framed the Case

The ruling turned on a factual event predating the lawsuit. On September 4, 2020, Chris Lopez alleged that Lowry punched him repeatedly during a dispute over their son’s haircut. Lowry was arrested in Delaware on September 26, 2020, and charged with offensive touching. She pleaded not guilty and denied the altercation ever became physical.⁸ The charges were ultimately dropped and no formal charges were filed, but the arrest itself was widely reported.⁹

Why the Case Was Dismissed

DeJesus retained First Amendment attorney Marc J. Randazza of the Randazza Legal Group, who filed a notice of appearance on July 23, 2021, and moved to dismiss under Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute. The motion argued the suit targeted “protected speech on a matter of public concern brought for the purpose of harassing and trying to silence a critic.”¹⁰¹¹ The defense also said DeJesus’s information came from “credible” sources, including Chris Lopez himself and Teen Mom 2 production crew members.¹²

Judge Robert J. Egan heard the motion on March 29, 2022, and issued his ruling on April 18, 2022, granting summary judgment for DeJesus.⁷ The decision rested on several findings. Because the statements concerned the Teen Mom 2 television show, they fell within Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute, which protects free speech connected to public issues. That shifted the burden to Lowry, who had to show her claims were not primarily aimed at protected speech and were not without merit. She failed to meet that burden.¹

On the substance, the court ruled DeJesus’s statements were “substantially true.” Because Lowry had in fact been arrested for domestic violence, the additional claim about “breaking and entering” did not materially change the meaning or the harm of what was already public. The court also found Lowry qualified as a limited-purpose public figure, meaning she had to prove DeJesus acted with “actual malice.” That standard requires either knowledge the statement was false or a high degree of awareness it was probably false. The evidence fell short on both.¹

The Fee Award

Florida’s anti-SLAPP law allows a prevailing defendant to recover attorney fees. Following the dismissal, Randazza sent Lowry’s counsel a demand for $120,096.87. “The anti-SLAPP law gives us the right to seek attorneys’ fees, and we intend to get Ms. Soto every penny to which she is entitled,” Randazza said.¹³

The parties filed a joint motion for a stipulated final judgment on May 16, 2022, recorded on May 20, 2022. A satisfaction of judgment followed on June 1, 2022, closing the case.⁴ DeJesus later confirmed to Us Weekly she received more than $100,000 from Lowry.²

How Each Side Responded

Lowry posted a statement to her Instagram story the day of the ruling: “While today’s ruling is unfortunate, I have to respect the judge’s decision. With that being said, I stand by my truth and the information spread about me is still not true.” She said she would “focus my energy solely on my boys and my future business endeavors.”¹⁴

DeJesus told Celebuzz, “I won,” and posted an Amazon shopping cart containing a clown costume and a mirror, captioned “Alexa, play ‘bitch better have my money!'”¹⁵ On May 13, 2022, after Lowry signed the fee agreement, DeJesus wrote on Instagram: “Don’t ever in your life ever think it’s okay to use the court system to bully someone.”¹⁶ She threw a “Case Closed” party the following day.¹⁷

By August 2022, DeJesus told Us Weekly the money had arrived: “I got my money and the case is over with, and hopefully there’s no more drama.” She described her relationship with Lowry as “certainly better” without the “bad legal advice” complicating communication.²¹⁵ The truce did not hold on social media, and by March 2024, when asked about Lowry’s newborn twins, DeJesus offered only “no comment.”⁹

1
Randazza Legal Group. Soto v. Lowry Order
2
US Magazine. Teen Mom 2’s Briana: My Relationship With Kailyn Is Better Now
3
People. Teen Mom 2’s Kailyn Lowry Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Costar Briana DeJesus
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UniCourt. Lowry Kailyn vs Soto Briana
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In Touch Weekly. Kailyn Lowry Briana DeJesus Feud
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The Sun. Teen Mom Briana DeJesus Dances Over Kailyn Chris Lopez Lawsuit
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The Sun. Teen Mom Briana DeJesus Smiles in Court Over Kailyn Lowry Lawsuit
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E! Online. Teen Mom’s Kailyn Lowry Arrested After Allegedly Punching Ex-Boyfriend Chris Lopez
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Yahoo Entertainment. Teen Mom Briana DeJesus Has No Comment on Kailyn Lowry
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E! Online. Teen Mom’s Briana DeJesus Responds to Kailyn Lowry’s Meritless Defamation Lawsuit
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Starcasm. Briana DeJesus Attorney Marc Randazza Kail Lowry Lawsuit
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The Sun. Teen Mom Crew Hates Working With Kailyn Lowry Claims
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Monsters and Critics. Teen Mom 2 Feud: Briana DeJesus Threatens to Countersue Kail Lowry for Legal Fees Totaling More Than $120K
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HollywoodLife. Kailyn Lowry Reaction to Briana DeJesus Defamation Lawsuit Dismissal
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Yahoo Entertainment. Everything to Know About Teen Mom 2 Lawsuit
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Screen Rant. What to Know About Teen Mom Briana Lawsuit Victory Party
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US Magazine. Inside Teen Mom’s Briana DeJesus Party After Kailyn Lowry Lawsuit