Thomas & LoCicero lawyers win dismissal of defamation claim brought by Buffalo strip club owner.
On August 27, 2024, Thomas & LoCicero attorneys convinced the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court to dismiss with prejudice two defamation claims asserted against the Sun Sentinel newspaper and a former reporter, Mario Ariza.
In March of 2021, the Sun-Sentinel published a news article by Ariza, titled “Nephew of alleged Buffalo mob boss arrested in Fort Lauderdale.” The article recounted the arrest of Peter Gerace, who had been indicted in Buffalo for “bribing a DEA agent, drug dealing, and human trafficking.” The article cited Gerace’s indictment and also expressly referred to a Buffalo News article detailing the facts of the indictment. Gerace sued the paper and reporter for defamation and defamation per se, claiming that the article falsely called Gerace a “top figure in one of the nation’s most notorious crime families.”
In dismissing the case, the Court agreed with and adopted three arguments put forth by TLo lawyers. First, the Court found that the article was substantially true, irrespective of Gerace’s argument that he was not a “top figure” in the Buffalo mob. According to the court, “removing the words ‘top figure’ from the Article would have little impact on the gist or sting of the Article.” In other words, “the common reader would come away with a similar perception of Plaintiff – that he is allegedly a significant criminal figure – with or without the inclusion of the allegedly defamatory words.”
Second, the Court held that the article was protected by Florida’s official reports privilege, which shields journalists from defamation liability when they “report accurately on information received from government officials.” Because the Sun-Sentinel reported accurately on Gerace’s federal indictment, the article was protected by the privilege.
Finally, the Court ruled that the article was shielded by the wire service defense, which shelters journalists from liability for republishing news reports from established news sources, such as the Buffalo News.
The Court also dismissed with prejudice Plaintiff’s similar defamation and defamation per se claims directed at the Miami Herald and its reporter. (Those defendants were represented by another law firm.)
Thomas & LoCicero lawyers Dana McElroy, James McGuire, Daniela Abratt-Cohen, and Karen Kammer represented the Sun-Sentinel and Ariza. The case is styled Peter G. Gerace, Jr. v. Miami Hearld Media Company, Sun-Sentinel Company, LLC, Jay Weaver, and Mario Ariza, Case No. 2023-001715-CA-01 (Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County, Florida).
With offices in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Thomas & LoCicero is a Florida-based firm with a national practice focused on Media and Free Speech, Business Litigation, Intellectual Property & Marketing, and Data Privacy & Security. Clients benefit from the firm’s extensive knowledge and experience in defamation, complex commercial litigation, business torts, breach of contract, antitrust and unfair competition, invasion of privacy, trademark, and copyright.
