Legal Update: Court Denies Emergency Reinstatement in Fredrics v. Montvale Facebook Lawsuit
file photo courtesy of Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
MONTVALE, NJ — A significant ruling has been issued in the ongoing legal battle regarding digital access and local government. On March 16, Judge O’Dwyer denied an application for an emergency temporary injunction that sought to immediately reinstate resident Howard Fredrics’ access to Mayor Mike Ghassali’s Facebook page.
The decision marks a pivotal moment in a case that questions the boundary between a politician’s personal social media use and an official government forum.
Mayor Ghassali Responds: “The Court Denied the Request”
Taking to social media to share the news, Mayor Mike Ghassali emphasized the court’s stance. “The media loves attention-grabbing headlines, but not this one,” Ghassali posted, noting that the court squarely denied the request for Fredrics to be temporarily reinstated while the case proceeds.
The Court’s Reasoning: No “Irreparable Harm”
In the denial of the preliminary relief, the Court looked at the Crowe v. De Gioia factors—the legal standard used to determine if emergency action is necessary. The Judge cited two primary reasons for the denial:
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Lack of Irreparable Harm: The Court noted that Fredrics waited nearly a year to file the application. Additionally, the Judge pointed out that Fredrics still has access to the official Borough of Montvale Facebook page.
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Likelihood of Success: The Judge expressed uncertainty regarding whether Mayor Ghassali’s page is a “personal” account or an “official” governmental forum, a distinction that is central to First Amendment challenges in the digital age.
The Plaintiff’s Perspective: A “Disappointing” but Preliminary Result
Despite the setback, Howard Fredrics and his attorney, Kathleen Redpath-Perez, maintain that the core of the case—whether constitutional rights were violated—remains undecided.
“The loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury,” Redpath-Perez stated, citing the Supreme Court precedent Elrod v. Burns.
Fredrics characterized the hearing as “extraordinary” and noted that while the emergency injunction was denied, the ruling does not affect the path toward a full trial on the merits.
What’s Next for Fredrics v. Montvale?
While the Court declined to grant immediate relief, the lawsuit is far from over. The legal teams will now move into the discovery phase, where evidence will be gathered to determine the true nature of the Mayor’s Facebook page.
The final ruling could have lasting implications for how elected officials in New Jersey manage their social media presence and interact with constituents online.
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FWIW, the fact that the Borough of Montvale seems to be claiming that Mayor Ghassali’s page is personal, does not mean it is. Evidence in the filing seems to suggest otherwise. Courts have previously ruled that regardless of what is claimed by way of labeling of a page (though this page appears to contain a number of government-related labels), if the content posted involves government-sponsored actions or announcements of policies, for example, public officials may not remove relevant comments, nor block citizens from accessing the page.
It will be interesting to see where this case goes, as if it does not succeed, that would represent a reversal of clearly established precedent.
Is Dr. Frederics actually a resident of Montvale? He doesn’t own any real estate in his own name. He is however the Chairman of PKRG-TV in Park Ridge.
Access to the Mayor’s official Facebook page is not limited to residents of Montvale. Rather, anyone. regardless of where they reside, is permitted to access and comment on the page, apparently, as long as they agree with what the Mayor posts. Since Park Ridge borders Montvale, and shares many services and activities, residents of Park Ridge are directly impacted by the Mayor’s policies and actions.
Also, it’s a bit odd that you seem to have more than a casual interest in me personally, having attempted, rather poorly I might add, to research my property interests, while at the same time, posting anonymously.
I do hope you are never blocked by a government official from accessing their official page, as there are opportunities for all of us to learn from one another by engaging on such pages. They are the modern equivalent of the public square.
Are you blocked from publishing your opinions on the Borough of Montvale’s official Facebook page?
Not as far as I know. The Borough maintains more than one official page, including via its individual elected officials’ official pages. One is Borough of Montvale. Another is Mayor Mike Ghassali. Both pages post official government business, and are, therefore, subject to laws and court precedents surrounding such official pages. When a public official posts material related to his official duties, courts have found they may not remove posts nor may they deny access to their page via blocking. Obviously, there are exceptions for those who post threats or extreme profanity, neither of which has been alleged.
I would strongly encourage you to review case law on this issue. Lindke v Freed is a good place to start.