In Cullin v. Lynch, 113 AD3d 586 (2d Dept. 2014), a case whose facts are impressively akin to the case herein, the plaintiff s defamation claim was for slander and libel. The Court found that as the allegedly slanderous statements were uttered 9 years prior to the commencement of suit, the claim was undoubtedly time barred and was properly dismissed by the lower court. The same statements were later used in an affidavit published in a probate proceeding and became the basis for the libel claim. In dismissing the cause of action for defamation (libel) for failure to state a cause of action, the Appellate Division held that "(a)s those statements were made by parties or witnesses in a pending judicial proceeding, and were material and pertinent to the objections to probate, they are protected by an absolute privilege." Id. at 587.