FAYETTEVILLE -- A lawsuit filed by the sisters of Josh Duggar claiming they were harmed by the release of police records was dismissed by federal judge on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks said in an order the women's lawsuit the defendants are entitled to statutory immunity from being sued.
The sisters' lawsuit was filed May 18, 2017, alleging a number of legal causes of action against a host of defendants. The legal claims had been narrowed as had the pool of defendants.
[DOCUMENT: Read the judge's order here: nwaonline.com/210duggar/]
The four daughters of the Jim Bob Duggar family sued Springdale and Washington County officials claiming they improperly released redacted police investigation documents to In Touch. The magazine published the information, which allowed the women to be identified, the suit says.
The police investigation concluded Josh Duggar fondled the sisters and at least one other girl. The statute of limitation had run out, and no criminal charges were filed.
The daughters, as named on the lawsuit, are Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo and Joy Duggar.
The lawsuit alleged publicizing their trauma subjected the women and their families "to extreme mental anguish and emotional distress."
Most of the original defendants, including the publisher of In Touch magazine, had been dismissed. The remaining defendants were former Maj. Rick Hoyt of the Washington County Sheriff's Office; Ernest Cate, Springdale city attorney; and former Springdale Police Chief Kathy O'Kelley.
A federal appeals court last year granted qualified immunity to Hoyt, Cate and O'Kelley on the federal claims in the case.
The three remaining claims were made under Arkansas law for outrage, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion and invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts.