The consumer advocacy group behind a recently dismissed lawsuit against Kristi Noem said Tuesday it plans to continue its case against her bizarre social media endorsement of a Texas dental clinic, noting that the South Dakota Republican governor was “highly evasive” and “threatening” when the group tried to serve legal papers on her.
Travelers United’s lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Noem ran “undisclosed advertisements” on multiple social media accounts when she promoted Smile Texas, the Texas dental practice that performed the veneers, in a five-minute infomercial-style ad.
The lawsuit was dismissed last week on the grounds that Travelers United had failed to provide the court with proof that Noem had been served with the complaint.
But the group claims it has served the complaint on the governor, and argues that a recent anecdote in which Noem killed an “untrainable” 14-month-old hunting dog lends credence to the complaint serveer’s concerns.
“Ms. Noem has recently been in the news for shooting and killing her family dog,” the filing, filed Tuesday by Travelers United attorney Lauren Wolf, said. “The plaintiff felt legitimately threatened.”
Wolf noted that the service of process also alleged that the governor was “highly evasive” and “threatening” and that his staff was “hostile” throughout the service of process.
Still, Wolf argued the lawsuit shouldn’t be dismissed because Noem “had been served with the complaint.” A memo from the service of process noted that the documents were eventually given to Noem’s staff.
“The frivolous lawsuit filed against me by Travelers United was dismissed by the court last week,” Noem said. I wrote to X Tuesday. “Their actions have revealed that they are a fake watchdog group making unfounded allegations to smear me.”
“To be clear, I am not receiving any compensation that could be considered ‘advertising’,” she added.
“If Travelers United continues their baseless legal battle, I will use all available means to hold them accountable,” Noem wrote. Another article.
Wolf told The Post that Travelers United is “100 percent” committed to moving forward with the lawsuit.
“If we have receipts showing Governor Noem paid in full, we’re happy to dismiss this lawsuit.” [for the out-of-state dental procedure]”We have made that clear to her lawyers but have yet to receive any documentation to show that,” she said.
It’s unclear why Noem cut out the Smile Dental endorsement and posted it widely on social media.
Her office did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
Travelers United had 14 days from May 20 to appeal the dismissal of the lawsuit.
