Randy Senna owned Wildwood Fascination parlor, an arcade game on the boardwalk i
ID: 1189397 • Letter: R
Question
Randy Senna owned Wildwood Fascination parlor, an arcade game on the boardwalk in Wildwood. His rival, Walter Florimont, owned Olympic Enter- prises, located nearby on the boardwalk in North Wildwood. To keep his client base, Senna promised that prize tickets won at his Seaside Heights parlor would be honored at the Wildwood location. Soon afterward, Senna learned that staff members at Flo- rimont’s Olympic Enterprises were telling Olym- pic’s boardwalk customers that Senna would not honor the prize tickets that he had issued. Senna asked Florimont to restrain his employees from “bad-mouth[ing]” him and his business with false and derogatory comments. According to Senna, however, Florimont’s employees continued to ver- bally assail his business.
Within a few months, Senna closed his Wild- wood Fascination parlor, only to resurrect it in 2000 under the name of Flipper’s Fascination. On dates in July, August, and September 2003, Flori- mont’s employees broadcast over a public address system to his boardwalk customers that Senna was “dishonest” and “a crook,” charging that he “‘ran away and screwed all of his customers in Seaside.’” As they had done several years earlier, Florimont’s employees accused Senna of having left his Seaside Heights customers with worth- less prize tickets—tickets he would not honor in Wildwood—and warned that he would cheat his customers again.
Senna filed a civil complaint alleging that Florimont and his employees defamed Senna and tortiously interfered with his ability to conduct business at Flipper’s Fascination. Senna demanded compensatory and punitive damages. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Florimont. Senna appealed. Were Florimont’s comments enough to defame Senna’s business? Why or why not? [Senna v. Florimont, 958 A.2d 427 (N.J. 2008).]
Explanation / Answer
Seanna did dishonor the tickets years earlier, and on the top of that he closed down the business, hence the new business was already defamed, and Florimont’s comments only gave fuel to the fire already set. If he had honored the tickets none of this would have happened.
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