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COSTELLO v. OCEAN COUNTY OBSERVER

136 N.J. 594 (1994)

643 A.2d 1012

JAMES COSTELLO, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, v. OCEAN COUNTY OBSERVER, WHIT ANDREWS AND JOHN DOE, A FICTITIOUSLY NAMED DEFENDANT, DEFENDANTS-RESPONDENTS.

The Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Decided July 20, 1994.

Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

David B. Rubin argued the cause for appellant (Rubin, Rubin, Malgran, Kaplan & Kuhn, attorneys).

Gregory M. Harvey, a member of the Pennsylvania bar, argued the cause for respondent (Starkey, Kelly, Blaney & White, attorneys; Therese A. Nestor, of counsel).

The opinion of the Court was delivered by GARIBALDI, J.

This case involves a newspaper article describing allegations contained in an unfiled complaint that a police lieutenant fondled a woman while she was handcuffed during a strip-search. We address whether the fair-report privilege applies and whether the lieutenant is a public figure subject to the actual-malice burden of proof.

I

In October 1990 Joseph Fisher, a supervising editor at the

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