The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second District Thursday upheld the dismissal of former congressman Devin Nunes’ lawsuit against CNN for defamation and civil conspiracy in a 2-1 decision. The case began while Nunes was still a member of the US House of Representatives, representing California’s 22nd Congressional District.

Nunes sued CNN for over $400 million after running a story that directly linked Nunes with efforts to get damaging information about President Biden and his son Hunter from Ukrainian officials in 2019. Nunes claimed that CNN sought to harm his reputation when it ran the story.

The court’s majority opinion ruled that Nunes failed to demand a retraction and failed to plead special damages under Rule 9(g) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Under California law, a plaintiff must make a written demand for a retraction within 20 days of notice of the publication. The court ruled that California law should apply because that was where Nunes lived and where he suffered the greatest harm to his reputation.

Judge Steven Menashi dissented, saying that the greatest damage to Nunes’ reputation did not occur in California. Menashi said that California law should not have applied because of the place of broadcast rule. According to Menashi, Nunes’ complaint should have survived the motion to dismiss.

Nunes resigned as a congressman in December 2021 to become the CEO of former President Trump’s Media Company, Trump Media & Technology Group.