Tenant Ordered to Cease Defamatory Statements

KMWB won a defamation action on behalf of a fellow attorney, the court appointed Receiver in the matter of Village Realty Holdings, Inc. v. 135 West 13, LLC et al. The case commenced when a holdover tenant in the subject building contacted the Better Business Bureau and the Departmental Disciplinary Committee in an effort to coerce the Receiver to act in violation of her duties. In addition, the tenant wrote slanderous reviews about the Receiver on a popular website offering attorney ratings, reviews and disciplinary records. Among other inaccuracies, the disgruntled tenant alleged that the Receiver’s role as the court appointed Receiver to the apartment building constituted an attorney client relationship between the Receiver and the tenant, even after being made fully aware and knowing that no such relationship ever existed.

Judge Edmead, of the New York Supreme Court, ordered that the tenant cease any dissemination to all third-parties or public forums any further inaccurate, false, misleading, or defamatory statements concerning the Receiver and/or her performance of her duties as a Receiver or as an attorney in general. Further, Judge Edmean ordered that the tenant cease any conduct that interferes with her exclusive authority as the Receiver including her authority to enter into lease agreements with the tenants of the building.

KMWB’s win will ensure that the Receiver is able to protect the reputation that she has earned among the legal community, as well as enable her to fulfill her duties and responsibilities on behalf of the court.