Defamatory statements
Camaj v Plassmann, 2017 NY Slip Op 03473, Appellate Division, Second Department
Supreme Court granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment for alleged liable after determining that the defendant had defamed the plaintiff by publishing false statements about him.
The court, after a nonjury trial on the issue of damages, determined that the plaintiff was entitled to compensatory damages in the principal sum of $25,000 and punitive damages in the sum of $10,000.
The Appellate Division affirmed the lower court's ruling, holding that "[i]n light of the nature of the defamatory statements, the fact that they were published to employees of the school district in which the plaintiff was employed and were repeated by students, and the evidence of the emotional distress caused to the plaintiff, the awards for compensatory and punitive damages were proper."
The decision is posted on the Internet at: