A judge this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman against the parents of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old boy he fatally shot in 2012.
Zimmerman in 2019 sued Martin’s family and others over alleged abuse of civil processes and conspiracy. He further alleged that he had been defamed through their claims and actions.
Other defendants who were named in the trial included HarperCollins, which published a book written by Martin’s parents about the case.
Judge John Cooper of Tallahassee dismissed all counts against the defendants in Zimmerman’s case and said that he had failed to prove “any fraudulent representation,” The Associated Press reported. The judge wrote that any further arguments trying to say otherwise would be futile.
“There can be no claim for conspiracy to defraud if there is no adequately stated claim for fraud,” Cooper wrote in his order.
In his lawsuit, Zimmerman made multiple allegations about his criminal trial, claiming that one witness was an “imposter” as well as that Martin’s family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump had engaged in a conspiracy to have him charged and tried.
Zimmerman, who said he had acted in self-defense, was ultimately acquitted on all charges in his 2013 criminal trial.
Martin’s death and Zimmerman’s acquittal help spark the Black Lives Matter movement.