Judge William Skretny
Nwabue alleged defendantsadministrators, professors and/or physicians affiliated with the State University at Buffalo Medical School or University Medical Resident Servicesmade defamatory statements intended to impeach his professional reputation, integrity and virtue as a physician. The court interpreted the claim as asserting the alleged defamation produced a “stigma plus.” To sustain a “stigma-plus” claim, a plaintiff must show that defendants made a defamatory statement resulting in tangible, material state-imposed burden in addition to the stigmatizing statement, like the loss of employment, and lack of process adequate to justify the state’s action. The court granted defendants summary judgment finding that, even assuming stigmatization, the claim must fail because evidence shows Nwabue was released for failing to “comply with the required terms of his probation.” The court added that the alleged defamation and the claimed resulting stigma were not “sufficiently proximate” and that Nwabue was released because of inadequate performance, not the alleged defamatory statements. Finally, the court found the claim must fail because sufficient process was made available to him.
