DEFAMATION SUIT DISMISSED

In filings in Bret Gordon’s defamation suit dated February 27, 2026, the plaintiff’s  effectively acknowledges that the defendant, Dale Dugas, raised allegations of Bret Gordon’s alleged unlawful conduct as part of his defense and criticism. The filing notably frames Dale Dugas’s actions as “outing” or bringing forward this information, rather than inventing it, or actual defamation. This is an important distinction that ties the disputed statements directly to claims about Gordon’s own conduct.

Attorneys are ethically required to present facts to the court with candor. Accordingly, plaintiff’s counsel could not plausibly portray Gordon as free of relevant legal issues while simultaneously addressing allegations involving criminal conduct or ongoing investigations. The filing itself references investigations by Alabama authorities multiple times, underscoring their relevance to the case.

In effect, the plaintiff’s own submissions placed before the court the existence of serious allegations and legal scrutiny, while characterizing the defendant’s role as one of disclosure rather than fabrication or defamation.

For over 5 years the Plaintiffs produced no evidence of actual defamation nor any proof of the plaintiff's many martial arts claims in their own defamation suit. 

In October of 2025 a notice of Failure to Prosecute was issued to the plaintiff's by the courts. 

According to court records, 5/8/2026, Gordons lawsuit, Lake County case number 35‑2020‑CA‑001851, was dismissed and closed by the judge (see below). Follow Link below and search records by using above case number ; https://courtrecords.lakecountyclerk.org/  

This outcome directly contradicts public statements that Gordon made claiming he prevailed in his lawsuit......in any capacity. In fact, court records indicate that no restitution was awarded, no sanctions enforced, no damages or monetary awards were granted to the plaintiff (see above). 

Almost two years ago, July 7th, 2023, Gordon stated online publicly on Facebook that he “won” his defamation case (see screencaps). 

However, the actual court records dont read the way Gordon spins it. 

The filings appear to show that Gordon’s own side didn’t even try to pretend Dale Dugas made this stuff up. Instead, they basically framed Dugas as exposing allegations about Gordon’s conduct, including references to Alabama investigations and fraudulent black belt rank claims

In real‑world terms, that’s not defamation; that’s someone holding up a mirror to Gordon's face and Gordon not liking it.  

In defamation law, there is a hard line between inventing a lie and bringing forward existing allegations backed by real legal scrutiny. If the plaintiff’s own pleadings keep talking about investigations and serious misconduct, they’re admitting in court that the allegations are relevant and NOT some elaborate slander fantasy cooked up by critics or as Gordon calls them, "his haters".

Then comes the ugly part Gordon doesn’t want anyone to notice. For more than five years, the plaintiffs served up zilch in actual proof of defamation and sweet nothing in hard evidence backing his own martial arts claims. By October 2025, the court had had enough and dropped a failure‑to‑prosecute notice on them. 

On May 8, 2026, the Lake County case 35‑2020‑CA‑001851 was dismissed and closed by the judge. No damages. No sanctions. No restitution. No money. No enforceable win. Just a case that flatlined on the docket.

So when Gordon struts around claiming that he “prevailed,” in his lawsuit, that statement is legally fictional. 

You can’t claim battlefield victory after your lawsuit got carried out in a body bag by the court. Apparently a court decision that is not to Gordon's liking just simply doesnt apply to him. 

What did actually win out here was the the clear paper trail: the filings show serious allegations were already on the table, countless times Gordon changed his story about his martial arts background, the defendant exposing them, and that the plaintiff ultimately failed to squeeze any real legal win out of the whole mess.

If Gordon wants to talk about how the case shook out, he should start with the docket, not his spin. The court file doesn’t lie — Gordon's PR story does.