Law Lessons from A.Z. AND B.Z. V. JOHN DOE, ET AL., App. Div., A-5060-08T3, March 8, 2010:

In Dendrite International, Inc. v. John Doe, No. 3, 342 N.J. Super. 134 (App. Div. 2001), the court held that where an anonymous person posted defamatory speech on broadly-available Internet message boards, a plaintiff would be entitled to an order divulging the identity of the anonymous author only if the plaintiff: provides sufficient information to demonstrate that his or her cause of action could withstand a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, supported by prima facie evidence to support each element of such cause of action (third prong); and establishes, through a balancing test, that the necessity for the disclosure of the anonymous defendant’s identity outweighs the defendant’s First Amendment right of anonymous free speech (fourth prong). Id. at 141-42.

“A defamatory statement is one that is false and ‘injurious to the reputation of another’ or exposes another person to ‘hatred, contempt or ridicule’ or subjects another person to ‘a loss of the good will and confidence’ in which he or she is held by others.” Romaine v. Kallinger, 109 N.J. 282, 289 (1988) (quoting Leers v. Green, 24 N.J. 239, 251 (1957)).

To establish a prima facie case of defamation, a plaintiff must present proof tending to establish each of the following elements:
1) defendant made a defamatory statement of fact about the plaintiff;
2) the statement was false;
3) the statement was communicated to a third party; and
4) defendant made the statement while either knowing that it was false, or while failing to exercise due care to ascertain the truth or falsity of the statement.
Leang v. Jersey City Bd. of Educ., 198 N.J. 557, 585 (2009).

“A truthful statement will not support a cause of action based on defamation, and the truth of the statement is an absolute defense to a claim of defamation.” G.D. v. Kenny, 411 N.J. Super. 176, 187 (App. Div. 2009). “True statements are absolutely protected under the First Amendment.” Ward v. Zelikovsky, 136 N.J. 516, 530 (1994). Significantly, “[a] statement can be ‘fairly accurate’ and still be considered the truth as a defense to a defamation claim.” G.D., supra, 411 N.J. Super. at 193 (quoting LoBiondo v. Schwartz, 323 N.J. Super. 391, 407 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 162 N.J. 488 (1999)).

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