Bruce S. Rosen Secures Appellate Victory Upholding New Jersey’s Anti-SLAPP Law Protections

Bruce S. Rosen, partner at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., recently secured a significant appellate victory in Lento Law Group v. Hendrickson, a published decision reinforcing the broad protections afforded by New Jersey’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), the state’s Anti-SLAPP statute.

Rosen represented a former client of a law firm who was sued by her attorney after posting a negative review regarding the firm's billing practices on the Better Business Bureau website. The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the defamation action, holding that the online review addressed a matter of public concern and was protected speech under UPEPA.

Commenting on the ruling, Rosen said, "You'd better have a damn good case that's going to get past the anti-SLAPP law. Mostly people sue this way to basically force people to take things down. It's not that you have a good case when you file it, it's that you're trying to stop someone from exercising their right to free speech. The message from this is lawyers ought to really, really be careful before they sue anyone for a bad review.”

To read the article, “Ruling Shows Lawyers Should Think Twice Before Suing Clients for Online Criticism,” in the New Jersey Law Journal, click here.

To read the article, “Law Firm Can't Revive Social Media Defamation Suit In NJ,” in Law360, click here.

Rosen has extensive experience representing media organizations, businesses, and individuals in matters involving First Amendment, defamation, and constitutional law. This decision marks another important development in New Jersey’s evolving anti-SLAPP jurisprudence. To read more about Bruce Rosen and his work, click here.

Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. is proud of the results it has achieved for clients.  Of course, each legal matter is unique on many levels, and past successes are not a guarantee of results in any other pending or future matters.