Harrington v. Costello

This is a defamation action, before us on further appellate review. The plaintiff, John P. Harrington, and the two defendants, William M. Costello and John A. Perry, are Roman Catholic priests. Harrington claims that the defendants published, in the parish where Harrington was serving, a false and defamatory statement to the effect that a parishioner had accused Har*721rington of stalking her minor son, and that Harrington suffered substantial personal harm as a result. A judge in the Superior Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint on statute of limitations grounds. A…