Mayo S. Sisler, Plaintiff-Respondent and Cross-Appellant, and Apt-To-Acres, Inc., a New Jersey Corporation…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the lower courts and remanded for a new trial, holding that a private individual who voluntarily engages in conduct that implicates a legitimate public interest must prove actual malice to recover for defamation, and that the trial court's negligence standard was improper. The Court also affirmed the jury's findings on general and special damages, but sent the case back for retrial under the correct standard. Justice Garibaldi filed a concurring opinion arguing that negligence, not actual malice, should apply.