Summary
The Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a Supreme Court order granting the defendant's motion to dismiss a defamation complaint and awarding attorney fees under New York's anti-SLAPP statute. The court held that while the defendant met his initial burden of showing the action involved public petition and participation, the plaintiff successfully demonstrated that the defamation claims had a substantial basis in law. Consequently, the court denied the motion to dismiss and the request for statutory costs and fees.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the defendant satisfied the burden of establishing a SLAPP action under CPLR 3211(a)(7) and (g) and thus shifted the burden to the plaintiff to show a substantial basis in law
- Whether the plaintiff demonstrated a substantial basis in law for its defamation claim and therefore is not subject to an award of costs and attorneys' fees under Civil Rights Law §70-a(1)(a)
Holdings
- The defendant met the initial burden, so the plaintiff was required to demonstrate a substantial basis in law; the plaintiff satisfied that burden, therefore the motion to dismiss and the award of costs and attorneys' fees were denied.
- The plaintiff established that the defamation claim satisfied all elements, including actual malice, and therefore the award of costs and attorneys' fees was improper.
Key quotations
“The elements of a cause of action [alleging] defamation are (a) a false statement that tends to expose a person to public contempt, hatred, ridicule, aversion, or disgrace, (b) published without privilege or authorization to a third party, (c) amounting to fault as judged by, at a minimum, a negligence standard, and (d) either causing special harm or constituting defamation per se.” (at 5)
“Damages may only be recovered if the plaintiff, in addition to all other necessary elements, shall have established by clear and convincing evidence that any communication which gives rise to the action was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard of whether it was false, where the truth or falsity of such communication is material to the cause of action at issue.” (at 12)
Factual background
The plaintiff, Moonbeam Gateway Marina, LLC, operates a marina under a 60‑year lease with the National Park Service on federally owned land in Brooklyn. The defendant, a customer, allegedly told another customer that the plaintiff was engaged in money laundering, intending to cause the National Park Service to terminate the lease. The plaintiff sued for defamation.
Procedural history
The plaintiff filed a defamation action in September 2022. The defendant moved to dismiss as a SLAPP suit under CPLR 3211(a)(7) and (g) and sought costs and fees under Civil Rights Law §70-a(1)(a). The Supreme Court, Kings County denied the motion to dismiss and awarded costs and fees. The plaintiff appealed.