I tried to pull up the Wisc. Supreme Court opinion on their website, but all I could find was the Court of Appeals opinion. The pastor lost the lawsuit on summary judgment (which means that the trial court found that there was no question of fact upon which a jury could find defamation). He didn't appeal the summary judgment finding.

You can lose on a motion for summary judgment and not have a frivolous lawsuit. It happens all the time. But, in this defamation suit, the Pastor had to prove malice since Donohoo was a public figure. This is an incredibly tough burden. All Action Wisconsin really had to do was prove that their interpretation of the Donohoo statement was reasonable.

Donohoo had no chance to win.