A lawyer who provided his client’s divorce papers to the Wall Street Journal has been ordered to stand trial on claims of libel, invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy.
The Appellate Division reversed a ruling Thursday dismissing claims by Michael Mandelbaum against attorney Jack Arsenault of Arsenault & Fassett in Chatham. Arsenault, who was co-counsel for Debra Mandelbaum in the divorce case, sent the Journal filings in which his client accused Michael Mandelbaum of pushing her down a flight of stairs and other acts of abuse. She later admitted those claims were false, but prosecutors still charged Michael Mandelbaum with aggravated assault. Ultimately, he was admitted to a diversionary program for first-time offenders.
