Defamation and Mutual Mistake: This Week in Scott Mollen's Realty Law Digest
Scott Mollen discusses "Golan v. Daily News," where an article about the plaintiff's deceptive real estate practices did not constitute defamation, and "Williams v. Sowle," where the complaint was dismissed for failure to establish the mistake in conveyance was mutual.
December 06, 2022 at 01:45 PM
19 minute read
Defamation—Real Estate Investor's Action for Defamation Against Daily News Dismissed—Articles Allegedly Embodied False Statements and Implications Involving Alleged Criminal And Fraudulent Behavior—Alleged Intent To Destroy Investor's Reputation—Statements Were Privileged—NY. Civil Rights Law (CRL) §74—Fair Report of Judicial Proceedings—Plaintiff Failed To Meet Heightened Pleading Requirements of Anti‑SLAPP Statute—Articles Were Either Privileged, Substantially True or Were Nonactionable Opinion and\or Rhetorical or Hyperbole—Headlines Were 'Fair Index of Truthful Matter Contained in Related News Article'—Defendants Awarded Legal Fees Pursuant to CRL §70-a (1) (a)
This decision involved a defamation action brought against the Daily News, L.P. (Daily News) and the author of an article contained therein. The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3211(a) (1), (7) and (g)(1) and for sanctions and\or costs pursuant to CPLR §8303-a and 22 NYCRR §130-1.1.
The plaintiff real estate investor commenced the subject action after he was named in "online and print articles of the Daily News (articles)." The online version was entitled "Brooklyn Developer Accused of Swindling Vulnerable Homeowners." The front-page print version of the article headline was "B'KLYN LAND SHARK! Real estate baron ripped by families and courts, subject to several suits." The print article included plaintiff's photograph, which he characterized as "retouched, to give him a 'sinister appearance'." The article continued inside the newspaper with a headline that stated, "OWNERS BEWARE OF THIS BUYER," with a sub-headline "Slam real- estate mogul as wolf preying on sellers in newly upscale B'klyn nabes…." The article reported that the plaintiff had been involved in several purchases of real property which had later been the subject of litigation.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFusion Voting and Its Impact on the Upcoming Election
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250