Media & Communications Law
N.Y. Lawyer Sued for Defamation Over Letter He Wrote to Court
Posted Apr 22, 2008, 12:08 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A Manhattan judge has refused to dismiss a defamation suit brought against a New York legal aid lawyer, because he wrote it as a friend of the court rather than as an attorney representing a client.
Hence, the letter does not fall within the absolute privilege that applies to statements made within judicial proceedings, ruled Manhattan Civil Court Judge Cynthia Kern. Brent Meltzer, a senior staff attorney at South Brooklyn Legal Services, asked in the letter that a housing court judge delay a case because of a party's alleged mental illness, reports the New York Law Journal, in an article reprinted by New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
Kern's opinion in McBride v. South Brooklyn Legal Services was issued late last week.
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