Judiciary

Lawyer’s Libel Suit Against Appeals Judge Gets Tossed

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A lawyer’s libel suit against a federal appeals judge has been tossed out of court.

U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry of Brooklyn dismissed the suit against Judge Robert Katzmann of the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the New York Law Journal reports.

Irizarry said Katzmann was protected by judicial immunity and the lawsuit was frivolous, the story says.

The suit was filed by lawyer Loretta McHenry, who objected to Katzmann’s decision affirming the dismissal of her bias suit against an insurance company that fired her. McHenry had contended Katzmann’s words were the judicial “equivalent of an assault.”

McHenry also sued the trial judge who dismissed her suit; that case was also dismissed. McHenry told the legal publication she would move to vacate the ruling or she would file an appeal.

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