Update: On June 15th, 2026, the appellate court affirmed the trail court’s dismissal of the plaintiff firm’s defamation claim. Referencing the brief multiple times, the court upheld the determination that the challenged statements were not defamatory, reviews of local businesses are matter of public concern that require a showing of actual malice, and that the statements challenged here were protected opinion. The N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Decision is an exciting outcome that “allows individuals in New Jersey to publicly express their opinions without the threat of meritless defamation suits.”
On December 26, 2024 the News/Media Alliance Joined an amicus brief led by RCFP in Lento Law Group, P.C. v. Carly Hendrickson in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. Lento Law Group filed a defamation suit against Hendrickson for criticizing their fees on the Better Business Bureau website.
The trial court granted Hendrickson’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit because her comments concerned a matter of public interest and are therefore protected under New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP law. On appeal, the amicus brief advocated for affirming the trial court’s dismissal. The brief stresses the purpose of New Jersey’s anti-SLAPP law—to counter the threats to First Amendment expression posed by the weaponization of libel and defamation suits against critics. Hendrickson’s speech, a consumer opinion about a business in her community, is of the very sort the anti-SLAPP Law is meant to protect from being bullied into silence by frivolous claims meant to deter criticism.
