IMMUNO, A.G. v. JAN MOOR-JANKOWSKI ET AL
Mr. Fersko represented the plaintiff Immuno AG, a multinational pharmaceutical company, in an important libel case that was won at the trial level, reversed at the Appellate Division of the NY Sup. Ct., affirmed by the New York Court of Appeals, and reversed and remanded back to the New York Court of Appeals by the United States Supreme Court.
A letter to the editor that formed the basis of the suit was held to be opinion and not actionable in New York State because of the overarching values protected by the New York State Constitution.
The New York Court of Appeals' decision on the remand held for the one defendant that had not settled. The decision has become a leading case dealing with "opinion" in the context of a defamation suit. The Appellate Court held that the U.S. Constitution provides a floor of minimum rights and the states may expand upon those rights, as is the case with the New York Constitution.
Friends of the court intervened in this case on behalf of both parties. On behalf of Immuno AG, the National Association of Biomedical Research representing several hundred universities participated as Amicus Curiae, and on behalf of the defendant, Amici included numerous animal protectionist groups and members of the media, including the New York Times, Newsweek, Newsday, Time, and others.
The plaintiff Immuno A.G. went on to collaborate with two component institutes of the NIH and with the well-known scientists Robert Gallo and Anthony Fauci in the first clinical trials of an AIDS vaccine based on GP160. Mr. Fersko negotiated that agreement with the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious diseases. The agreement was the first of its kind.
The oral arguments at the Court of Appeals on the original appeal and upon the remand were each broadcast by the Albany Law School at the time of the proceedings. You can view excerpts of these arguments below (coming soon).
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