Herald Overcomes Legal Challenge to Press Freedom

RIO GRANDE – Avalon Public Works employee Nathan Morey filed a lawsuit against the borough in September 2020, alleging that his supervisor, William Deeney, engaged in antisemitic conduct directed at Morey. The borough investigated the allegations. As a result of those internal investigations, Mayor Martin Pagliughi developed a reorganization plan for the borough’s Department of Public Works.
At the Dec. 16, 2020 meeting of the Avalon Council, the reorganization plan was brought before the governing body for approval. The resolutions associated with the plan were approved unanimously. 
Morey’s litigation against the borough subsequently resulted in court-directed mediation and a settlement between Avalon and Morey.
On Jan. 8, 2021 the Herald published a story covering a December meeting of the Avalon Council and the reorganization of the borough’s Department of Public Works. In that article, the Herald presented a discussion concerning the proposed plan. Included in the article was a summary of what led to the creation of the plan. The Herald’s reporting included statements of Morey’s allegations concerning Deeney in Morey’s Superior Court complaint against the borough.
Deeney filed suit against the Herald in October 2021.
On Sept. 1, 2022, Deeney’s case against the Herald, its publisher, Arthur Hall, and Herald reporter Vince Conti was dismissed with prejudice by Superior Court Judge James Pickering Jr. In its ruling, the court noted that the Herald was not making the claim that Deeney was antisemitic. Instead, “the article was merely factually reporting on the mayor’s reorganization plan, the reasons for the plan and the allegations in Morey’s complaint against Avalon.”
The Herald’s defense in the litigation called upon an important public protection, New Jersey’s fair reporting privilege. The privilege protects the republishing of “reports of defamatory statements made in judicial and other official proceedings.” The purpose of this protection is to allow information from official proceedings to be made available to the public.
A second aspect of the Herald reply to the Deeney claims involved issues of public concern. Given that the Jan. 8 Herald article involved allegations of antisemitism by a public employee, Morey’s civil lawsuit against Avalon, and the borough’s initiated municipal reorganization plan, the issue met the legal definition of a “matter of public concern.” This being the case, the plaintiff in the Deeney suit against the Herald was obligated to demonstrate actual malice in the reporting. The court agreed that this was not the case. 
We report the results of this litigation because it is important for the public to realize that protections do exist for the accurate reporting of official proceedings and that those protections are at times challenged. 
It is important that the press always maintain a commitment to accurate and unbiased reporting. It is equally important that unwarranted challenges to press protections be vigorously defended. 
Have any thoughts and/or information on this topic? Email vconti@cmcherald.com.