I mused on the issue of why he alerted her to the pending petition for a TRO. I might be wrong but I think he did it for the sake of the children. He didn’t want them finding out it had happened from SM or from a third party. It was no hardship for him and Bianca to temporarily protect themselves (hotel and electronic lockdown). I‘d hazard he may have had a word with any friend she has left to check in.
I don’t think this will get anywhere in court and presumably didn’t if the TRO was granted.
As to the 1st amendment defence it’s quite risky. They need to prove there is no deliberate harm. He has emails in which she states she is doing it intentionally and that she wants to harm his career at least. WANT MORE! cannot mean anything other than a statement she is trying to get at him.
But the most risky thing for this strategy is that Alice and her lawyers have zero intelligence about the harm she may have caused. That intelligence sits entirely with Ioan‘s lawyers and is likely to be very robust. Details of physical and mental health impact, statements about detriment to his career (including those made by Alice), her contact with his productions. There was no way Harrow was her last hurrah into haranguing his producers.
They won’t be arguing the potential for harm at some point in the future. They will present evidence of actual harm habing occurred. The Connecticut case was lost because the plaintiff claimed there was potential for harm at some point in the future. Not that harm had happened or was happening.
Alice‘s lawyers will know this and that she won’t have been truthful with them. I expect this is not how they wanted to respond but she is her own worse enemy. Which ultimately is her downfall.
