On June 12, 2024, the Second Department issued a decision in Nofal v. Yousef, 2024 NY Slip Op. 03182, holding that a defamation claim failed for lack of detailed allegations, explaining:
‘The elements of a cause of action for defamation are (a) a false statement that tends to expose a person to public contempt, hatred, ridicule, aversion, or disgrace, (b) published without privilege or authorization to a third party, (c) amounting to fault as judged by, at a minimum, a negligence standard, and (d) either causing special harm or constituting defamation per se. The complaint must set forth the particular words allegedly constituting defamation (see CPLR 3016[a]), and it must also allege the time when, place where, and manner in which the false statement was made, and specify to whom it was made. Since falsity is a necessary element of a defamation cause of action and only ‘facts are capable of being proven false, it follows that only statements alleging facts can properly be the subject of a defamation action. Whether a particular statement constitutes an opinion or an objective fact is a question of law.
Here, the Supreme Court properly directed dismissal of the defamation causes of action, as the amended complaint did not set forth the persons to whom the statements were allegedly published and, for many of the alleged defamatory statements, failed to set forth the actual words complained of or the time when, place where, and manner in which the statements were made. In addition, most of the alleged defamatory statements lack a precise meaning that is capable of being proven true or false.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).