DeAngelis v. Hill

In this defamation case, plaintiff, a police officer, claims that defendant defamed him by publishing a newsletter accusing him of perjury. The Law Division denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and the Appellate Division denied defendant’s motion for leave to appeal. We granted leave to appeal, 177 N.J. 487, 828 A.2d 915 (2003), and now reverse because plaintiff failed to demonstrate the required “actual malice” necessary to maintain a defamation action by a public official.

I

This appeal arises from a parking dispute between defendant, James Hill, and the Township of Woodcliff Lake…