Failed Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore files defamation lawsuit over ads

Failed Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore is suing for defamation, claiming that campaign ads that ran during the Alabama US Senate special race last year damaged his reputation.

The suit jointly filed with his wife, Kayla Moore, claims that a Democratic-aligned super PAC ran "false, misleading" TV and digital ads against him and "intentionally or recklessly failed to confirm the accuracy" of them.

Among the defendants the complaint names is Highway 31, a political action committee that the Senate Majority PAC, the major Democratic super PAC focused on Senate races, funneled money to while backing Democrat Doug Jones, who ultimately won the race.

The suit alleges that Highway 31 ran a false ad stating that Moore had been banned from the Gadsden Mall for soliciting sex from young girls when he was deputy district attorney.

"Despite knowing that the content was false or in reckless disregard thereof each one of (the defendants) did in fact run advertisements that contained false and defaming material," the complaint reads.

Moore also alleges that the group ignored statements by people who worked for security and managed the mall at the time refuting that Moore had been banned from the mall.

According to the suit, the Moores suffered damage to their reputations and Roy Moore was brought into "public contempt" because of the ads. The suit also says Roy and Kayla Moore "suffered financial damages in the form of lost wages and opportunities" and Roy Moore's likelihood of holding future political office "has been damaged."

The Moores are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

CNN has reached out to the Senate Majority PAC for comment.

During the 2017 campaign, Moore was accused by several women of pursuing relationships with them when they were teenagers, and in some cases, of molestation and sexual assault. Moore repeatedly denied all the allegations.

Moore and his wife filed a lawsuit in April against three of the women who made accusations against him, calling the allegations part of a "political conspiracy."