For the record I've never been sued for defamation (I was once sent a cease-and-desist letter by John De Goes, a Scala conference organizer who didn't like that I had publicized things he'd said and done, but he was bluffing and never even replied to my lawyer's response).
(Barring a conviction for defamation, I don't know what a suit says. There have been a handful of defamation lawsuits in the tech community over the last decade, all(?) of which ended in embarrassment for the complainant.)