DOVER — As previously reported, the Town of Dover has filed an action against Ricardo “Rico” Gonzalez – a local gadfly, former Dover police officer, and Mount Olive resident. The Town had repeatedly warned Gonzalez that his repeated insulting and disparaging comments, which he has continuously posted online against Dover employees and elected officials, violated the terms of his 2015 settlement agreement with the Town in which he accepted $175,000 and other consideration in exchange for dismissal of his claims and a mutual non-disparagement agreement. (Click here to read the previous article)
On Friday, April 4, 2025, after oral argument, Superior Court Judge Noah Franzblau, Esq. granted the Town emergency relief to enforce the non-disparagement clause. The ruling not only bars Gonzalez from making further public remarks deemed disparaging toward the Town and its officials, but it also signals a firm stance on the enforceability of settlement terms entered into by municipal employees.
The Town’s complaint and emergent relief action were filed by its labor attorney, Jonathan F. Cohen, Esq., of Plosia Cohen LLC in Parsippany. Gonzalez is represented by Richard Flaum and the law firm of DiFrancisco Bateman – the same firm that negotiated the 2015 non-disparagement clause on Gonzalez’s behalf, which clause they now claim is overbroad and unenforceable. In response to the Town’s Order to Show Cause, Gonzalez’s attorneys argued that enforcement of the 2015 agreement’s terms would violate Gonzalez’s rights to free speech and political expression. He cited recent case law and the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), a statute designed to shield individuals from lawsuits intended to suppress protected speech. He sought attorney’s fees against the Town.
After a raucous oral argument in which his attorney repeatedly challenged the judge, the Court issued a written decision in favor of the Town. The decision granted restraints on Gonzalez’s disparaging comments. It opened the door for the Town to seek to recover the $175,000 in contractual payments it made to Gonzalez in future proceedings in the same case.
The Superior Court ruling affirms the Town’s legal right to defend its reputation and protect its officials from reputational harm. Morris County Superior Court Judge Noah Franzblau, J.S.C., stated, “Dover demonstrated a “reasonable probability of success on the merits,” its elected officials and employees had suffered from Gonzalez’s social media remarks, including name-calling and corruption accusations. The judge further found that the Legislature did not design UPEPA to prevent governmental employers from enforcing breach of contract claims.
An email to Richard Flaum and the law firm of DiFrancisco Bateman seeking comment went unanswered.
