A Bergen County judge has declined to toss out defamation claims against Porzio Bromberg & Newman and a firm attorney who admitted he “had too much to drink” when he accused an ex-client of extortion in an email on which dozens of others were copied.

Superior Court Judge Charles Powers Jr. denied motions by the Morristown firm and partner Warren Martin Jr. for partial summary judgment in the suit, even though the plaintiff couldn’t put a dollar value on the alleged defamation.