Court reversal reinstates rabbi’s defamation suit

A state appellate court ruling has breathed new life into Rabbi Pinchas Lipner's $10 million defamation suit against the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and Richard Goldman, its former president.

In a 2-1 decision issued last week, the First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the oral histories containing Goldman's critical statements about Lipner were "inherently undiscoverable" — in other words, difficult for the rabbi to find within the one-year statute of limitations for defamation.

This reversed an earlier ruling that said, in waiting roughly 10 years between the document's publication and filing suit in November of 2002, Lipner had allowed the statute of limitations to lapse.

"I think it's obviously the right result and we had prevailed on this issue at one point in the trial court, but lost twice in a row also," said Paul Kleven, Lipner's attorney. "I'm happy but not completely surprised."

Lawyers for Goldman and the federation were surprised, however.

Attorney Barry Lee said the ruling was "not a crushing blow."

"We think, with all due respect, the majority opinion got it wrong," Lee added.

The opinion of Presiding Judge Anthony Kline and Judge James Lambden held that Lipner "with reasonable diligence could not have discovered ... the allegedly defamatory statements set forth therein" the history.

Lee has not ruled out petitioning the state Supreme Court over the ruling. If and when the case finds its way to trial, a ruling will be made on whether Goldman's statements that Lipner is "not an honorable man" and "self-serving and an embarrassment" among others are libelous.

"There are false statements of fact contained within the transcript," said Kleven.

Lee declined to comment on the case beyond procedural matters, but did add, "There is no basis to Rabbi Lipner's claims."