Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Indiana

A claim against the town board for defamation is a possibility, but you will have a couple of high hurdles to overcome. First, the Indiana tort claims act protects government officials in many ways from lawsuits, and requires a tort claim notice be delivered within 180 days, or the action is barred.

In addition, there is a special privilege for statements made at a public meeting, that requires that the statements not only be false, but also made with malicious intent. Unless there is malice, even otherwise defamatory statements don't give rise to a claim.

If the letter weren't anonymous, I would say that the public meeting privilege would almost certainly apply. However, publishing an anonymous letter could be considered malicious, if the board had no reason to believe it was credible and simply published it to attack you. The key issue will be whether the board legitimately thought the anonymous letter was potentially credible and/or whether board members had any personal reason to attack you or hurt your reputation.

You should consult with an attorney in greater detail to determine what your options are in your particular situation. If you have been seriously harmed, you might have recourse, but it will be challenging.