| Clark v Schuylerville Cent. School Dist. |
| 2010 NY Slip Op 04902 [74 AD3d 1528] |
| June 10, 2010 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
| Linda Clark, Appellant, v Schuylerville Central School District etal., Respondents. |
—[*1] Girvin & Ferlazzo, P.C., Albany (Patrick J. Fitzgerald of counsel), for respondents.
Mercure, J. Appeals (1) from an order of the Supreme Court (Ferradino, J.), entered June 23,2009 in Saratoga County, which granted defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissingthe complaint, and (2) from an order of said court, entered June 23, 2009 in Saratoga County,which denied plaintiff's motion for sanctions.
The underlying facts are fully set forth in our prior decisions involving this action (Clark v Schuylerville Cent. SchoolDist., 57 AD3d 1145 [2008]; Clark v Schuylerville Cent. School Dist., 24 AD3d 1162 [2005]).In separate orders, Supreme Court has now granted defendants' motion dismissing plaintiff's soleremaining cause of action for defamation, and denied plaintiff's motion to strike defendants'answer and for a default judgment based upon the alleged spoliation of evidence. Upon plaintiff'sappeal from both orders, we affirm.
Plaintiff's defamation claim is based upon her assertion that defendant Thomas S. Martin,principal of Schuylerville Junior/Senior High School, stated to defendant Schuylerville CentralSchool District's attorney that plaintiff had shown an "R" rated film to students in violation of theDistrict's policies and procedures. Martin, however, denied ever having made the statement setforth in the complaint and plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in that regard. Moreover,plaintiff concedes that, even if made, the alleged statement would have been subject to aqualified privilege, unless it was made with malice, because the communication [*2]occurred between persons with a common interest in the subjectmatter (see Foster v Churchill, 87 NY2d 744, 751-752 [1996]; Liberman vGelstein, 80 NY2d 429, 437-439 [1992]). We note that in this context, malice includes spite,ill will, knowledge that a statement is probably false or a reckless disregard for its falsity, andthat "spite or ill will refers not to defendant's general feelings about plaintiff, but to the speaker'smotivation for making the defamatory statements" (Liberman v Gelstein, 80 NY2d at439; see Foster v Churchill, 87 NY2d at 752). Inasmuch as plaintiff failed to present anycompetent evidence that the alleged statement was "made with an intent to harm [her,]. . . with a reckless disregard for [its] truth, . . . [or] solely because[Martin] disliked [her]" (Foster v Churchill, 87 NY2d at 752), she failed to demonstratean issue of fact regarding the existence of malice sufficient to defeat the qualified privilege(see id.; Liberman v Gelstein, 80 NY2d at 438-439; cf. Curren v CarbonicSys., Inc., 58 AD3d 1104, 1107 [2009]).
Finally, as Supreme Court concluded in declining to impose sanctions on defendants, therecord does not support a conclusion that Martin improperly destroyed documents related to thisaction. Plaintiff's vague and speculative allegations regarding prejudice arising from the allegeddestruction of documents do not support a claim of spoliation (see O'Connor v Syracuse Univ., 66AD3d 1187, 1191 [2009], lv dismissed 14 NY3d 766 [2010]; see also Dobson v Gioia, 39 AD3d995, 998 [2007]; cf. Cutroneo vDryer, 12 AD3d 811, 813 [2004]).
The parties' remaining arguments, to the extent that they are not rendered academic by ourdecision, lack merit.
Cardona, P.J., Lahtinen, Malone Jr. and Egan Jr., JJ., concur. Ordered that the orders areaffirmed, without costs.