MORRIS COUNTY — The legal dispute between the Town of Dover and former police officer Richard Gonzalez took another turn this week, as Superior Court Judge Noah Franzblau granted the Town’s motion to dismiss Gonzalez’s counterclaim under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA).
The decision follows earlier rulings in which the court declined to dissolve the restraints it imposed on Gonzalez based on a 2015 settlement agreement. That agreement included a non-disparagement provision, which Dover alleges Gonzalez violated through a series of social media posts about town officials, including Mayor Jim Dodd.
In the July 18 decision, Judge Franzblau reaffirmed that UPEPA does not apply to the case. He found that Gonzalez had accepted $175,000 in consideration for his agreement not to disparage the Town or its officials, and that the Town’s lawsuit seeks only to enforce that contract. The judge again noted that Gonzalez remains free to engage in political discourse, but must honor the specific terms of the settlement he signed.
The hearing also marked the first in-person appearance by Richard Flaum, counsel for Gonzalez. Although Flaum had signed prior briefs, he had not previously appeared in court. During oral argument, Flaum spent much of his time challenging the judge’s prior rulings. His approach was similar in tone to that of his co-counsel Lisa Fittipaldi, who appeared on Gonzalez’s behalf at the April 4 hearing.
The Town of Dover is represented by Jonathan F. Cohen of Plosia Cohen LLC, who argued that Gonzalez’s counterclaim under UPEPA had no legal basis and that enforcement of a bargained-for settlement agreement does not implicate First Amendment protections.
With the counterclaim now dismissed with prejudice, Dover may pursue the return of the $175,000 settlement payment as part of its breach of contract claims, which may proceed to discovery and potentially result in a trial.
