Petro-Lubricant Testing Laboratories, Inc., and John Wintermute v. Asher Adelman, D/b/a/ Ebosswatch.com…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the single publication rule applies to internet articles and that a material and substantive change to the defamatory content of an online article constitutes a republication that restarts the one‑year statute of limitations. It also affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the defamation action on the basis of the fair report privilege, modifying the Appellate Division’s reliance on the statute‑of‑limitations analysis. Justice SOLOMON, in a concurring opinion, disagreed with the majority’s republication finding and would have affirmed the Appellate Division’s dismissal.