Kathleen Fable, who served on the Northern Valley Regional Board of Education, claims a couple libeled her on Facebook.
OLD TAPPAN - A former board of education member who wrote on Facebook that some parents who oppose random drug testing "smoke pot with their kids" is suing a married couple for allegedly smearing her name, according to a lawsuit.
Kathy Fable claims in a lawsuit parents slandered her at board of education meetings and on Facebook. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Fable) Kathleen Quinn Fable, who served for three years on the Northern Valley Regional Board of Education in Old Tappan claims in court papers that Dennis Doros and Amy Heller of Harrington Park made statements that injured her reputation and adversely affected her advertising business.
The issue stems from an Aug. 5, 2013 Facebook post Fable made about parents who oppose suspicion-based, random drug testing in Bergen County schools.
"Should we be acting on the demands of the parents who smoke pot with their kids?" Fable wrote in the post, which appeared in a closed Facebook group for Old Tappan moms.
Fable claims she made the comment as "a mother of three children and not as a board member."
The defamation suit, filed recently in Bergen County Superior Court, claims Doros and Heller attended a September 2013 meeting where the school board was to vote on a proposal for random drug testing. The couple publicly mischaracterized Fable's Facebook remarks, the suit claims.
"Doros and Heller accused school board members and (Fable) of slandering and cyberbullying them and their son," the suit states.
The couple stated "Kathy Fable said that anyone who opposes random drug testing smokes pot with their kids," the lawsuit alleges.
After a lengthy debate, the school board voted to research alternative drug-prevention techniques, according to the suit. The proposal was later voted down.
Six days after the meeting, The Record of Bergen County published an opinion piece about Fable and her Facebook comments.
"The article mischaracterized (Fable's) statement on the closed Facebook forum," the suit states.
The opinion piece asked Fable and the board to apologize.
"Fable should at the least apologize publicly to all Northern Valley Regional parents," The Record stated. "The board should apologize to parents and pass a motion condemning Fable's remarks."
The lawsuit, however, claims Doros and Heller planted the opinion piece and later posted a link to the article on Facebook.
The opinion piece, which the suit claims is defamatory, "continues to remain at the top of the Internet browsers when (Fable's) name is searched," the suit states.
The lawsuit claims the publicity has injured Fable's reputation and caused her to lose opportunities and clients in her personal business, Quinn Fable Advertising, Inc. in New York City.
The Record is not named as a party to the suit.
In an interview on Wednesday, Fable said Doros and Heller tried to thwart her efforts to curb a serious drug problem in the district.
"We had kids dying of heroin overdoses," Fable said. "The claims (Doros and Heller) made against me and the board were horrific."
Fable said Dennis Doros once live-streamed a board meeting on Facebook, making derogatory comments about the members as they spoke.
An attorney for Doros and Heller on Nov. 17 filed a motion to dismiss the suit, claiming the statute of limitations on the case has run out. New Jersey's "Single Publication Rule" holds that reprinting or reposting an article, even with minor changes, does not trigger a new statute of limitations period.
"All my clients did was repost that article," the attorney, Stephen R. Katzman of Edison, said in an interview on Wednesday.
The attorney accuses Fable of seeking to punish his client and other parents for opposing random drug testing and for speaking out at a public meeting.
Fable's suit alleges defamation, slander and libel. She is asking a judge to order the removal of all defamatory statements about her from the Internet, and to award her with compensatory and punitive damages.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.