US appeals court rejects Zia Chishti’s challenge in defamation case

Former TRG Pakistan Chief Executive Officer Zia Chishti has suffered another legal setback in the United States after a federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against former Afiniti employee Tatiana Spottiswoode and her lawyers, concluding that all of his claims fail as a matter of law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a September 2024 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which dismissed the case with prejudice. In its earlier ruling, the district court characterised the lawsuit as "a not-so-thinly veiled attempt" to overturn the outcome of arbitration proceedings that had rejected Chishti's version of events and ruled in Spottiswoode's favour.

At the centre of the dispute was Spottiswoode's 2021 testimony before a U.S. congressional committee, where she discussed a 2019 arbitration award that found in her favour on claims stemming from allegations of sexual harassment, assault and battery against Chishti. The hearing ultimately contributed to legislation ending mandatory arbitration in workplace sexual assault and sexual harassment cases.

After the congressional hearing, Chishti alleged that Spottiswoode's testimony, media interviews and other public comments had defamed him and breached confidentiality obligations arising from the arbitration process.

Rejecting those arguments, the appeals court ruled that testimony delivered under a congressional subpoena in connection with pending legislation is protected by absolute legislative privilege. It further held that statements made by Spottiswoode and her attorney to The Telegraph, together with related social media posts, amounted to protected expressions of opinion and were therefore not actionable under District of Columbia law.

The ruling also undermines assertions made by Chishti in early 2025 that his settlement agreement with The Telegraph over its reporting of the case validated his claim that the arbitration findings against him were flawed.

The decision marks the latest in a series of unfavourable court rulings involving Chishti. In separate proceedings, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that several claims he pursued against TRG entities had already been released under a 2022 settlement agreement. In related enforcement proceedings, the same court ordered him to turn over assets to satisfy an arbitration award and determined that transfers of assets to his spouse had been made with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors.