Posner v. New York Law Publishing Co.

The motion court correctly held that the article published in defendant newspaper was a substantially accurate report of the decision it published on the case of Matter of Posner (Central Synagogue) (NYLJ, Oct. 28, 1993, at 28, col 6, affd 202 AD2d 284 , lv dismissed 83 NY2d 953 ), and therefore privileged under Civil Rights Law § 74 (Holy Spirit Assn. v New York Times Co., 49 NY2d 63 , 67). The minor inaccuracies in the article cited by plaintiff do not make it otherwise (see, supra, at 68; Gurda v Orange County Pubis. Div., 56 NY2d 705 , revg on opn below 81 AD2d 120 , 133; Ford v Levinson, 90 AD2d 464 ). Nor was the cartoon that accompanied the article anything other than commentary, albeit hyperbolic, on a subject of public controversy, and, as such, constitutionally protected opinion (see, DRT Constr. Co. v Lenkei, 176 AD2d 1229 , 1230, lv denied 79 NY2d 753 ; Velez v VV Publ. Corp., 135 AD2d 47 , 52, lv denied 72 NY2d 808 ). The complaint was utterly without merit, and costs were properly assessed by the motion court. Concur— Murphy, P. J., Milonas, Wallach, Ross and Nardelli, JJ.