Biegeleisen v. Jacobson

In Biegeleisen v. Jacobson (198 AD2d 57 [1st Dept 1993], lv denied 83 NY2d 754 [1994], cert denied 513 US 874 [1994]), a case that is directly on point, the Appellate Division of this department upheld the dismissal of a defamation action brought by a medical doctor against a medical doctor who had testified against him in an underlying malpractice action. The Court reasoned: "The statements defendant made during his testimony as an expert witness in the medical malpractice action that had been brought against plaintiff cannot be the subject of a defamation action unless they constituted falsehoods 'so obviously irrelevant as to warrant an inference of express malice.'" (Id. at 57.)