Whether a tort award against a speaker violates the Free Speech or Petition Clause when the statement could reasonably be construed as a verifiable and true assertion or as an unverifiable opinion, the speaker genuinely believed the statement, and there is no evidence the statement caused the adverse governmental action

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Where a person speaks to a government official on a matter of public concern, and a subsequent governmental action regarding that matter harms a third party, whether a tort award against the speaker and in favor of the third party violates the Free Speech or Petition Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when the statement could reasonably be construed as a verifiable and true assertion or as an unverifiable opinion, when the speaker genuinely believed the statement, and when there is no evidence that the statement caused the adverse governmental action. @