Roger Thomas, co-founder and chief business officer at TeleComp in Bentonville, has filed a petition for injunctive relief against a man he said has defamed and harassed him over a grudge dating from the 1980s.
In the suit filed in Benton County Circuit Court by attorney Brian Burke of Burke Law Firm in Bentonville, Thomas said John Wray Jr. of Harrison defamed him in Facebook posts and emails and has threatened physical violence because Thomas dated Wray’s ex-wife 34 years ago.
The suit alleged that Wray sent Thomas a message in November 2017 saying he hadn’t forgotten about Thomas and “hope to catch you out soon.”
The suit said Wray later posted insulting comments or reviews on the Facebook pages of TeleComp, an IT and telecommunications company, and of Thomas’ band, the Downtown Livewires.
When Thomas posted a picture of himself and AT&T executive Michael Cooper, the suit said, Wray posted a comment, “That’s so cool Roger you started as an operator coming to work high.”
AT&T is one of TeleComp’s largest vendors, the suit said.
Thomas alleges that an email, supposedly coming from Wray’s daughter’s email account, was sent to TeleComp’s technical support group asking if Thomas was still a “dope-smoking loser.” It caused at least one TeleComp employee to question Thomas’ character, the suit alleged.
Burke said in a statement attached to the suit that he contacted Wray’s employer, Lew Thompson & Son Trucking in Huntsville, and sent Wray a cease-and-desist letter by fax on May 22.
He said a corporal with the Bentonville Police Department had contacted Wray on May 9 after a complaint to caution Wray to stop having contact with Thomas.
Thomas is asking for compensatory damages, to be determined by the court, for loss of business reputation caused by the posts and reviews.
He is also asking for punitive damages and court and attorney’s fees, as well as a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction to prevent Wray from making further defaming comments.
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