Bruce Rosen Quoted in Article in New Jersey Law Journal regarding Implementing Anti-SLAPP Laws
Bruce Rosen, Partner at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., was quoted in the New Jersey Law Journal article “New Jersey May Be On Its Way to Joining 32 Other States, D.C. in Implementing Anti-SLAPP Laws.” The article discusses an anti-SLAPP bill unanimously passed by The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee that is designed to stop frivolous lawsuits early on in the discovery process by providing an expedited motion and process to dismiss a “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.”
In a statement to the committee, Bruce S. Rosen, a partner with Pashman Stein Walder Hayden in Hackensack, said that there are no ready statistics regarding SLAPP suits in New Jersey because, unlike 32 other states, New Jersey has no law or case law to meaningfully punish a plaintiff who files this type of an action. Typically, defamation or tortious interference cases are meant to silence detractors.
“These lawsuits are usually flawed; and it is often difficult, if not impossible, to prove certain elements of these torts, often whether actual malice exists or whether there are truly damages. The idea of these lawsuits is to force capitulation by defendants through the threat of legal fees and fear of an eventual award,” Rosen said.
Rosen said that “it is a real oddity” that New Jersey is behind in this area.
To read the article, click here.