Prima Facie Case of Defamation Made Out in the Complaint

The Fourth Department determined the complaint made out a prima facie case of defamation. The statements were included in a newspaper article and were attributed to defendant. The court succinctly explained the applicable law:

“The elements of a cause of action for defamation are a false statement, published without privilege or authorization to a third party, constituting fault as judged by, at a minimum, a negligence standard, and it must either cause special harm or constitute defamation per se”…, and we conclude that the complaint sufficiently alleges those elements and, thus, states a viable cause of action. We further conclude, contrary to defendant’s contention, that the “particular words complained of” were sufficiently set forth in the complaint as required by CPLR 3016 (a) and, in any event, plaintiff attached to the complaint the full Niagara Falls Reporter article containing the alleged defamatory statements … . Defendant contends that, because he did not participate in the drafting of the Niagara Falls Reporter article, he cannot be held liable for defamation and, thus, the court properly granted his cross motion. That contention is without merit. It is well established that “[a]nyone giving a statement to a representative of a newspaper authorizing or intending its publication is responsible for any damage caused by the publication” … . Accadia Site Contr., Inc. v Skurka, 2015 NY Slip Op 04958, 4th Dept 6-12-15