Practice point: At issue are the defendant's statements to former colleagues at the law firm which had terminated him. The defendant's statement that the plaintiff, who is the firm's principal, is "really nothing more than a common criminal" is a nonactionable statement of opinion. The statement has an imprecise meaning, and it cannot be proven true or false. In context, no reasonable reader would understand the statement as an accusation that the plaintiff had ever been charged with, or convicted of, a crime.
Caradli v. Slater, NY Slip Op 08544 (1st Dep't December 13, 2018)
Here is the decision.
