Claims Against Jewish Newspaper Dismissed To Avoid Religious Entanglement

In Abdelhak v. Jewish Press, Inc., (NJ App. Div., Dec. 31, 2009), a New Jersey appellate court dismissed a complaint alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress on the ground that the claims could not be decided without excessively entangling the court in matters of religious doctrine and practice. At issue was a lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish doctor who was falsely listed by a Jewish newspaper in its "Seruv Listing," a list of men who had been formally held in contempt by a Jewish religious court for refusing to comply with an order to give their wives a Get (Jewish divorce document). (Background.) Plaintiff argued that there cannot be excessive entanglement in violation of the Establishment Clause when the cause of action is secular and the defendants are not religious figures. The court, however, rejected this contention and applied the abstention doctrine, reasoning that:

to evaluate whether plaintiff's reputation suffered any injury, a jury would, of necessity, be required to determine how a Seruv Listing is viewed within the Orthodox Jewish community and whether an Orthodox Jew would be offended by another's refusal to provide a Get. To make that determination, a jury would be obliged to consider the intricacies of Jewish doctrine. Such consideration would require a jury to delve deeply into the importance of giving a Get and the disdain heaped on a man who refuses one.

[Thanks to Bridget Englard for the lead.]