COURT HOUSE – Former Upper Township Business Administrator Gary DeMarzo has chosen to drop a defamation case against an Upper Township resident and was ordered to pay the resident more than $6,400 in attorney fees and court costs.
DeMarzo filed a lawsuit on Dec. 30, 2024, naming newly elected Township Committeemen Samuel Palombo and Zachary Palombo, as well as resident Barbara Murphy-Leary. On April 15, Superior Court Judge James Pickering ordered the case against Murphy-Leary dismissed with prejudice, meaning it is permanently dismissed.
According to Pickering’s final judgment, Murphy-Leary’s attorney, Colin Bell, filed an order to show, which would have caused DeMarzo to demonstrate why his claim should not be dismissed. DeMarzo instead chose to have all claims against Murphy-Leary dismissed and was ordered to pay $5,985 toward her legal fees and $423 in court costs, for a total of $6,408.
Murphy-Leary, according to DeMarzo’s complaint, created a Facebook page titled “Politics and Promises in Upper Township and Cape May County” that defamed him.
Bell moved to dismiss the complaint under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, also known as the Anti-SLAPP law, which protects citizens against defamation suits when they “exercise the right of freedom of speech … on a matter of public concern.”
Bell’s motion to dismiss argued that all claims were barred by the one-year statute of limitations for defamation; that DeMarzo’s complaint did not identify any actual defamatory statement by Murphy-Leary, and that the complaint did not allege that Murphy-Leary acted with actual malice, which is required for defamation suits concerning public figures and matters of public concern.
“Citizens are entitled to question their elected and appointed government officials,” Bell said. “The Anti-SLAPP law was designed to prevent powerful parties from silencing their critics by forcing them to defend against lawsuits attacking their protected free speech.
“I am glad that we were able obtain the dismissal of what I believe was a baseless lawsuit and obtain an award of counsel fees so that Ms. Leary wasn’t forced to incur these counsel fees to protect her free speech rights.”
Although the Palombos, who are cousins, were also named in the suit, their attorney, Norman Briggs, said he did not believe the dismissal of the portion of the suit against Murphy-Leary should have any bearing on his clients’ case.
Briggs said he did file a motion to dismiss the suit against his clients, and Pickering heard oral arguments on March 28. He said the judge said he would render a decision and issue a written opinion, but as of April 21 there was no ruling.
DeMarzo filed his lawsuit against Murphy-Leary and the Palombos prior to the committeemen being sworn in. On March 10, he filed a second lawsuit in the morning and was removed as administrator at the Township Committee meeting that evening.
The committee also passed a resolution asking the township’s labor attorney to formulate a resolution for laying off DeMarzo from his Civil Service job as personnel officer. The committee subsequently passed the resolution, which claimed the position was being eliminated for efficiency purposes.
A request for comment from DeMarzo’s attorney, Sebastian Ionno, was not immediately answered.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
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