As a matter of first impression, the court addressed the procedural issue of whether the trial court properly entertained plaintiffs' motions to dismiss after they had filed an answer to defendant's counterclaim asserting a defense under Rule 4:6-2(e) or whether plaintiffs were required to file the motion prior to filing their answer. The court concluded the trial court correctly considered the motion under Rule 4:6-2. It determined that Rule 4:6-2, when read in conjunction with Rule 4:6-3, contemplates that a party who raises a Rule 4:6-2(e) defense in its answer will be permitted to make an application to the court prior to trial in much the same way as a motion for summary judgment. The court also addressed whether, in considering defendant's counterclaims for defamation and trade libel, the trial court properly determined plaintiff's statement that defendant was a criminal or engaged in criminal behavior was substantially true and therefore a defense to these causes of action, even though defendant was never convicted of a crime. The court concluded that a conviction is not necessary to render substantially truthful a statement that a person was a criminal or engaged in criminal behavior, and defendant's admissions during her testimony in an underlying federal criminal prosecution rendered plaintiff's statements substantially true irrespective of whether there is a record of a successful prosecution against her.