Alleged name-calling not defamation, judge says in dismissal of NJ lawyer's suit against ex-wife
A judge has dismissed a New Jersey lawyer’s defamation suit against his ex-wife.
Ocean Township lawyer Mark Kentos had sued his ex-wife, Kelly, for remarks he says she made about him in front of one of his clients, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.
According to the suit, Kelly Kentos called her ex-husband a “sociopath,” a “psychopath,” a “control freak,” a “sex maniac” and a “pervert” during a visit to the home of one of Mark Kentos’ firm’s clients. She also said, according to the lawsuit, that he should be disbarred.
Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Patricia Cleary, in a Sept. 27 ruling, said such statements, if made, do not rise to the level of defamation.
But she also refused to sanction Kentos for filing a frivolous claim, as a lawyer for his ex-wife had requested.
Kelly Kentos’ lawyer, Bruce Rosen, said the case was baseless.
“My client didn’t do what they said she did, and even if she did, it was merely name-calling,” he said.
Kentos declined comment.
