Minister within the Ministry of Communities Annette Ferguson has lost her bid to secure an interim injunction to restrain Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and the Guyana Times newspaper from repeating what she says are libellous statements made by the two to damage her character and reputation.
During a ruling yesterday morning, Justice Gino Persaud refused Ferguson’s application, stating among other things that her attorney Lyndon Amsterdam failed to persuade the court why injunctive relief should be granted.
The judge had recalled that the attorney had provided no legal authorities to dispel the commonly held legal position that such relief should not be granted, except in very rare circumstances.
The judge said that Amsterdam did not substantiate nor satisfy the court that his client’s application fell within the “rare cases” bracket.
Justice Persaud explain-ed that such a basis ought to have been established, especially given implications for the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression which highlighting from case law he said “must continue to be cherished.”
He went on to say that freedom of expression is a time-honoured principle. He said that the matter will now move to trial where the issues will be fully ventilated.
Ferguson (the claimant), has filed a $60 million lawsuit against Jagdeo and the Guyana Times.
She was hoping to be granted an injunction to prohibit the newspaper from disseminating words similar to those which were published in its Wed-nesday, December 11th, 2019 edition and against Jagdeo making what she says are untrue statements regarding her acquisition of land.
Counsel for Jagdeo, Attorney Anil Nandlall had argued that the opposition leader is protected by the defences of fair comment, justification and qualified privilege which he will substantiate at trial.
Amsterdam, however, had refuted Nandlall’s claims, stating that there is no evidence to support Jagdeo’s defences even as damage has been done to the minister’s reputation.
In her suit against Jagdeo, Ferguson is seeking damages in excess of $50,000,000 for libel she said he committed on two separate occasions—December 5th and 12th of last year, for which she is asking for more than $25M in damages for each occasion.
Meanwhile, as regards the libellous statements she alleged were published by the Guyana Times, the minister is seeking damages in excess of $10 million.