Delmonico v. Traynor

An attorney has absolute immunity for events occurring during a judicial proceeding. However, where, as it is alleged here, an attorney makes defamatory statements which injure a person outside of those “judicial proceedings,” the attorney should be entitled only to qualified immunity. Thus, because on the motion for summary judgment there remain disputed issues of material fact as to whether the attorney made the statements and whether they were made with the intent to injure the appellant, I would reverse.

Appellant, Daniel DelMonico, is president of MYD Marine Distributor, Inc. *9MYD is the…