Defamation Charges on the Upswing – Thanks to Trump?

There has been a surge of inquiries about possible defamation lawsuits in co-ops and condos in the year since Donald Trump became president, attorney Steve Wagner, a partner at Wagner Berkow, tells Brick Underground.

“It’s a new normal,” Wagner says. “It seems in the last year, the language and level of anger have ramped up to the point where people are far more likely to say or write things that would qualify as defamation. And people seem to be far more willing to bring suits concerning statements made on the internet, in texts, or just by people spreading rumors. It's not just people attacking the board. In some instances it's one board member being attacked by other board members." 

Opinions are protected by the First Amendment; false statements of “fact” are not. "The difference between a statement of fact and an opinion,” says Wagner, “is whether the reader or listener thinks that the person writing or speaking knows something that [the reader or listener] doesn't know." 

Wagner brought a landmark case in 2009 on behalf of a model named Liskula Cohen, forcing Google to divulge information leading to the name of an anonymous blogger who had called Cohen names. In court, attorneys for the anonymous blogger defended by saying the epithets she used were opinions or perhaps jokes, and, as such, protected. The court disagreed. Cohen ultimately settled the case. 

In co-op and condo buildings, anonymous flyer campaigns, whispered innuendo, and disparaging blog posts can wreak havoc on board operations – and damage board members' personal and professional reputations. The bad blood and intrigue can become public beyond the building, and that can hurt buyer interest. 

"When this kind of thing is buzzing around a building, it's possible that a broker would know,” Wagner says. "People read the board meeting minutes when they're thinking of buying into a building.  A broker may steer clients away when there is a lot of strife in the building. People want to live in peace and not be inundated with flyers and emails and postings, particularly when they are defamatory." 

That has become less and less likely in the age of Trump.