An unusual $10 million defamation suit against an attorney brought by a Brooklyn, N.Y., judge for allegedly telling a New York Daily News columnist the judge improperly presided over a case involving a lawyer who represented the judge before the judicial conduct commission has been dismissed.
However, while Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Martin Shulman dismissed all claims against attorney Ravi Batra, he allowed a defamation claim to proceed against the Daily News and columnist Errol Louis, finding that “the average reader might have concluded from one of Mr. Louis’ columns that Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Larry D. Martin is a corrupt jurist” under investigation.
