Defamation

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Most people, especially this guy, know that saying the word “bomb” in/near an airplane or airport is a bad idea. In Baez v. JetBlue, 14-2754-cv (2nd Cir. July 16, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an irate passenger’s lawsuit arising from actions taken by JetBlue and its employee in…

Read More Airline and Agent Not Liable for False Arrest, Defamation, etc. For Reporting Angry Passenger’s Bomb Comment
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In a somewhat unusual departure from my typical blog posts, this one is about a cease-and-desist letter addressed to me personally. The letter (here, with selected exhibits and below), from Florida lawyer Casey Cummings of Florida law firm Kenner & Cummings PLLC, asserts that a blog post I published on June 3, 2014 is “defamatory”, asks me “kindly” to take…

Read More My Response to a Cease-and-Desist Letter
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No one likes/wants to be sued. Process servers – people hired by attorneys to deliver litigation papers to a named defendant – are, therefore, not exactly “welcome” when they attempt to serve papers on a defendant. A recent case, Galtieri v. Uptown Communications & Electric, Inc. and Jonathan Smokler, Sup. Ct. Qns. Cty. 19589/2012, illustrates…

Read More Process Server’s Assault/Battery and False Imprisonment Claims Continue
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In Catalanello v. Kramer (decided May 7, 2014), Southern District Judge Paul Engelmayer dismissed plaintiff Robert Catalanello’s complaint alleging defamation and false light invasion of privacy against law professor Zachary Kramer. Applying New Jersey law, the court held that the alleged defamatory statements (which were contained in Kramer’s law review article titled “Of Meat and Manhood” and…

Read More Court Dismisses Defamation and False Light/Privacy Claims Brought By Alleged Harasser Against Law Professor
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In Frechtman v. Gutterman, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the dismissal of a defamation claim brought by an attorney against his clients. Specifically, the court held that the complained-of-statements were non-actionable opinion, and were protected by absolute and qualified privileges. The facts: Plaintiff, A. Bernard Frechtman, a practicing attorney for more than 60 years,…

Read More Lawyer Sues Clients for Defamation, Loses
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A recent case, Cogle v. Bergstein (Supreme Court, New York County, decided Nov. 18, 2013) illustrates the pitfalls that exist when pleading defamation and discrimination claims in New York State courts. Plaintiff, a nurse, worked for the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC) at Bellevue Hospital.  She alleged that she was suspended based on defamatory…

Read More Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Defamation and Failure-to-Accommodate Disability Discrimination Claims
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Plaintiff Ese O’Diah, a black man from Nigeria, sued his former employer Roastown Coffee and its owner Doug Shin for employment discrimination (alleging that he was fired because of his race, color, and national origin) and defamation. Defendants claimed that plaintiff was fired for stealing money from the store cash register. The Southern District of…

Read More Plaintiff Gets to Jury on Discrimination and Defamation Claims, Notwithstanding Theft Allegation
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