Defamation Plaintiff Need Not Offer Evidence of Actual Damages, New Jersey Supreme Court Holds

On May 21, 2012, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled, in W.J.A. v. D.A., that a private party alleging defamation need not proffer evidence of actual damages to survive a motion for summary judgment and reach a jury. A-77-10, (N.J. May 21, 2012). The court concluded, however, that in the absence of proof of actual damages, the plaintiff is limited in recovery only to nominal damages (typically a trivial sum of money, such as $1.00, simply to recognize that a legal injury was sustained), and not compensatory or punitive damages.