Yankwitt LLP Secures Dismissal for Westchester Lawyer in Defamation Anti-SLAPP Case

A litigation team led by Yankwitt LLP partner Cassandra Vogel secured the complete dismissal of a defamation lawsuit against a Westchester attorney and his law firm, along with an award of Yankwitt LLP’s fees incurred on the case. The defamation claims were based on statements made by our clients in a legal publication and on LinkedIn relating to a federal wage and hour class action case they were litigating. The plaintiff in the defamation action (and the defendant in the federal wage and hour case) argued that such statements were defamatory.

Yankwitt LLP moved to dismiss, arguing the defamation lawsuit constituted an Anti-SLAPP action, a type of claim often used to stifle free speech, and that plaintiff could not meet the heightened burden of proof applicable to such claims. The motion demonstrated, among other things, that the statements were subject to the fair reporting privilege because they contained a fair and true account of the allegations in the federal action, they were not defamatory because the federal court had found in the underlying case that the content of the statements was true, and the plaintiff failed to plead special damages.

The court agreed with Yankwitt LLP, finding that the case was subject to the Anti-SLAPP laws and the plaintiff failed to meet its burden that its claims had a substantial basis in law. The court dismissed the case in its entirety and awarded attorneys’ fees to the defense, as provided under the anti-SLAPP statute.