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Defamation Action Brought by Judge Against a Reporter Properly Dismissed—Although the Reporter Made Defamatory Statements Which Were Not Privileged, the Judge Failed to Raise a Question of Fact About Malice as a Motivation

In a full-fledged opinion by Justice Saxe, the First Department affirmed the dismissal of a defamation action brought by a judge against a reporter.  The court determined that the reporter had made inaccurate statements which were defamatory and which were not privileged under  the Civil Rights Law.  However, because the judge was a public figure, the New York Times v Sullivan “malice” standard applied and, the court determined, the judge was unable to raise a question of fact about malice as a motivation for the reporting:

Although we agree with Justice Martin that the published columns were susceptible of a defamatory interpretation, were not protected opinion, and were not privileged under Civil Rights Law § 74, that is not the end of the inquiry; Justice Martin had to also clear the demanding hurdle presented by the standard set in New York Times Co. v Sullivan (376 US 254, 279-280 [1964]). Since he is a public figure, he had the burden of showing, with convincing clarity, actual malice — that is, that the author and publisher of the columns acted with reckless disregard for the truth … . “The standard is a subjective one, focusing on the speaker’s state of mind” … . This standard of “convincing clarity” applies even on a motion for summary judgment … .

“[R]eckless conduct is not measured by whether a reasonably prudent man would have published, or would have investigated before publishing. There must be sufficient evidence to permit the conclusion that the defendant in fact entertained serious doubts as to the truth of his publication” … . “[I]t is essential that the First Amendment protect some erroneous publications as well as true ones” … . Therefore, to prevail, Justice Martin was required to offer a showing tending to establish that Louis ” in fact entertained serious doubts as to the truth of his publication,’ or acted with a high degree of awareness of [its] probable falsity'” … . Martin v Daily News LP, 2014 NY Slip Op 05369, 1st Dept 7-17-14

 

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