The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a defamation action based on statements made during a court-ordered arbitration. The “judicial statements privilege,” as it’s known in Kentucky, provides an “absolute privilege” for communications made pursuant to judicial proceedings, even if the statements would otherwise be defamatory. The privilege is more commonly referred to outside of Kentucky as the “litigation privilege” or “judicial privilege.”
A communication must fulfill two requirements to fall within the privilege’s protection: (1) the communication must have been made “preliminary to a proposed judicial proceeding, or in the institution of, or during the course and as part of a judicial proceeding”; and (2) the communication must be material, pertinent, and relevant to the judicial proceeding. The doctrine “rests upon public policy which looks to the free and unfettered administration of justice, though, as an incidental result, it may, in some instances, afford an immunity to the evil-disposed and malignant slanderer.”
The Kentucky Supreme Court was careful to point out that it did “not decide that all arbitrations come within the judicial statements privilege.” Rather, the court held solely that “statements made pursuant to court-ordered arbitrations are protected by the judicial statements privilege to the same extent as statements made in other court proceedings.”
New Albany Main Street Properties, LLC v. Stratton, No. 2022-SC-0254-DG (Ky. Aug. 24, 2023).
©2026 Carlton Fields, P.A. Carlton Fields practices law in California through Carlton Fields, LLP. Carlton Fields publications should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Carlton Fields. This publication may not be quoted or referred to in any other publication or proceeding without the prior written consent of the firm, to be given or withheld at our discretion. To request reprint permission for any of our publications, please use our Contact Us form via the link below. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the firm. This site may contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Carlton Fields does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites.
Perspectives on reinsurance and arbitration law and practice.
Recent Posts
Editorial Contacts
Shareholder
Shareholder
Of Counsel
Shareholder
Shareholder
