Trials & Litigation
Judge tosses lawyer’s dueling lawsuit against Willkie partner in spat over New York Post story
A Connecticut judge has ruled that a solo practitioner accused of facilitating a negative story about a BigLaw partner in the New York Post can’t sue for a declaratory judgment that his actions were protected by the First Amendment. (Image from Shutterstock)
A solo practitioner accused of facilitating a negative story about a BigLaw partner in the New York Post can’t sue for a declaratory judgment that his actions were protected by the First Amendment, a Connecticut judge has ruled.
Judge Edward Krumeich II of Connecticut tossed a lawsuit filed by Eric Grayson of Grayson & Associates as a strategic suit against public participation that is barred by a state anti-SLAPP law, Law360 reports.
Grayson’s First Amendment retaliation suit had alleged abuse of process and vexatious litigation by A. Mark Getachew, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and his wife, DeNora Getachew.
The New York Post story had alleged that the Getachews stiffed their landlords on rent of $11,000 per month for a mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut; they contended that their repair costs for a pool, a hot tub and a waterfall that weren’t functioning had eclipsed their rental costs and their lease had been breached.
The landlords, who were Grayson’s former clients, were former Disney chief financial officer Lawrence Rutkowski and his company L&S Investments.
The Getachews were the first to sue for alleged abuse of process. They had alleged that Grayson and his then-clients had filed a court affidavit in their rental dispute, so that it could be used in the New York Post article, published in October 2020.
The Getachews filed a federal suit in October 2023 after first trying to add the abuse-of-process claim in their state court suit for breach of the rental lease.
A federal judge refused to dismiss the Getachews’ suit against Grayson and his landlord clients in April.
Krumeich said Grayson couldn’t sue because the underlying matter is about a case of public concern. Grayson’s suit admits that the New York Post article concerned a case of “public interest,” Krumeich said, because of similar situations in which wealthy tenants were accused of “squatting” in mansions to take advantage of eviction moratoriums during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Krumeich also said a declaratory judgment in Grayson’s suit would amount to a declaration that the Getachews’ pending federal suit is invalid, which amounts to an improper advisory opinion.
Grayson and his attorney, Proloy K. Das, did not immediately respond to ABA Journal emails seeking comment. Douglas J. Varga, a lawyer for the Getachews, also did not immediately respond to a Journal email requesting comment.
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