Spain v Williams

Holding The court affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff’s defamation claims, finding that the alleged statements were nonactionable opinion or rhetorical hyperbole rather than provable facts. The court further upheld the award of costs and attorneys’ fees to the defendants under the anti-SLAPP statute because the action lacked a substantial basis in law.

The court’s words

The alleged defamatory statement in the June 2024 email amounted to no more than nonactionable opinion or rhetorical hyperbole and was not capable of being proven true or false

2026 NY Slip Op 06160, at the official text

Given the context of the alleged defamatory statement—a heated election campaign—and the June 2024 email's tone, reasonable readers would have concluded that they were reading an opinions, rather than a fact, about the plaintiff

2026 NY Slip Op 06160, at the official text

The complaint failed to allege to whom the June 2024 email had been published

2026 NY Slip Op 06160, at the official text