PORTLAND, Maine - A Haiti orphanage founder is appealing a judge's dismissal of his defamation suit against a Maine activist who publicized sexual abuse accusations against him.
A federal jury concluded last year that Paul Kendrick defamed orphanage founder Michael Geilenfeld and awarded more than $14 million in damages. But an appellate court in Boston then questioned whether the case ever belonged in federal court in the first place.
U.S. District Judge John Woodcock Jr. ruled earlier this month that Geilenfeld wasn't living in the U.S. when he filed his claim and the case lacked grounds to be heard in a U.S. court.
Geilenfeld filed his appeal on Friday to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Geilenfeld is the founder of St. Joseph's Home for Boys in Port-au-Prince.