Defamation claim dismissed over prosecutors' press release
January 10, 2013
By Jessica Dye
NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A dentist acquitted of Medicaid fraud cannot pursue a defamation claim against prosecutors whom he claimed falsified information in a press release announcing his indictment, a Brooklyn federal judge ruled Thursday.
Brooklyn dentist Leonard Morse was ultimately acquitted of the fraud in 2007. He then sued current and former members of the New York attorney general's office over the indictment and the press release, which announced he had been charged in a "million dollar Medicaid fraud."
In a ruling from the bench, Chief U.S. District Judge Carol Amon said Morse had not shown the press release was false, a necessary element of a defamation claim, as well as two other claims Morse brought in connection with the release.
"A showing of falsity is critical for these claims," Amon said in granting the attorney general office's motion to dismiss the claims.
