UPDATE: Hoboken blogger case dismissed after it fails to cross high threshhold for defamation

HOBOKEN — How far is too far to go in criticizing an opponent who is on a different political side than you are, and is it going too far if the posts make reference to your opponent’s child or if they number in the dozens?
These questions have been asked in the case of a Hoboken resident who has sued two local political bloggers and several internet commenters for alleged defamation. The case was covered here. Now, the case, brought by Hoboken resident Lane Bajardi against political blogger Nancy Pincus and other internet bloggers and commenters, was dismissed on Tuesday morning after several days of testimony from major Hoboken political players. The judge noted the particularly high standard for such suits in New Jersey.
The bloggers’ lawyers suggested in court that the posts did not meet the standard for slander/defamation, saying the plaintiff had not proven sufficient financial/employment losses due to the posts. Full details are not yet available and will be posted later this week and covered in the print edition.
According to PolitickerNJ, Bajardi’s lawyer said that he would appeal the case, and that there would be information forthcoming making it clear why.
Read the history of the case in the links above or below.
The case has its root in the nastiness of politics in mile-square Hoboken, where political factions often form and rumors are spread at the drop of a hat. At stake is power over a community of 50,000 people across the river from New York City, millions of dollars in development contracts, and more.
The two political bloggers being sued are supporters of current Mayor Dawn Zimmer. Bajardi is on a different political side from them, having been allied with and worked politically with Zimmer’s political opponent, Councilwoman Beth Mason. His $2 million lawsuit, filed in 2012, cited dozens of on-line posts attacking him and his family. Posts from “Grafix Avenger,” which Pincus uses as her screen handle, continually suggested that Bajardi’s toddler would be better off being “raised by wolves.”