Courts - New Jersey Court: Accurate lawsuit reporting not libelous

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey's highest court ruled Tuesday that a newspaper cannot be held liable for accurate reporting of allegations made in a lawsuit, though a dissenting opinion found that the story in question was unfair to the accused. The ruling overturned a 2008 decision by an appeals court that found The Record could be held liable for its reporting about a federal bankruptcy court complaint that alleged a Glen Ridge man misappropriated money from a now-defunct telecommunications company. The man, Thomas Salzano, sued the newspaper, saying the allegations in the complaint were unfounded. He said the March 2006 story defamed him by reporting that he was "accused of stealing" the money, thereby implying that he was a criminal. Many of the allegations in the initial complaint were eventually dismissed, but the appeals court said The Record wasn't covered by the state's "fair report privilege" because the newspaper did not demonstrate the allegations were true or non-defamatory. The privilege allows newspapers to report allegations made in court documents without fear of being sued for defamation. But the state Supreme Court ruled that newspapers are not liable as long as they accurately quote allegations in a suit, which it determined the newspaper did. Published: Wed, May 12, 2010

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