(Trinidad Express) “Facebook libel” is not a “sport” that anyone should engage in, but if they choose to do so, then there will be severe financial consequences imposed by the court.
For too long, some people have been using social media platforms to tarnish the names of others “for their own personal gain” and this is something that must be stopped.
So said Master Martha Alexander as she awarded former Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricketer and president of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) Dinanath Ramnarine $775,000 in damages, exclusive of interest, after businessman Rafi Ali made certain defamatory statements against him on Ali’s Facebook page in January 2016.
Ali was not just the president of Universal Haulers Co Ltd but also a nominated member of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) for the past ten years, a member of the Central Zonal Council of the TTCB, and president of Esmeralda Cricket Club.
He did not defend the claim and therefore judgment against him was entered in default. The ruling was made last week and a 48-day stay granted in the event he intends to appeal the order.
In addition to the compensation, Alexander also ordered that Ali pay Ramnarine’s legal cost in the sum of $56,823.65.
“In the present matter, the Facebook libel was staged to destroy the claimant’s reputation and the court must send a message that such reckless abuse of social media platforms must stop. The defendant before this court will not be allowed to use Facebook to boost his popularity at the claimant’s expense or ‘to sell another man’s reputation for profit’.
“If a defendant’s sport of choice is Facebook libel then the consequences of such virtual sporting libel must burn the pockets of the defendant to achieve deterrence,” stated the Master.
Facebook libel a booming platform
The Master said the libel was unprovoked, unjustifiable, and damning, was aimed at and did succeed in hitting the claimant where the most irreparable damage could have been done – his prized reputation.
“Facebook libel is a booming platform for any defendant who wants to act with impunity by ignoring the numerous judicial cautions to Facebook users to desist from online character assassinations because of defamation’s far-reaching consequences.
“When the present defendant embarked on his libellous rampage on Facebook, he would have done so uncaring as to whether he was unfairly crushing the claimant’s reputation or causing distress, humiliation and hurt.
“He was uncaring also of the global reach of the social media platform that was Facebook. He was uncaring of the wreckage that he would leave in the path of his libellous rampage, particularly the damage to the sporting industry,” she said.
In his claim, Ramnarine stated: “My reputation as a long-standing reputable cricketer has been tarnished and stained because of the Facebook publications, causing me to lose several high-profile contracts and my good name.
“This has also crippled my livelihood and placed a severe financial strain not only on me but on my family life. This is especially as I constantly have to prove myself to persons that the words uttered by Mr Ali are untrue.”
“As if the injury caused by his initial Facebook libel was not enough, the defendant issued e-mail correspondence to members of the TTCB and then republished an article from the TTWhistleBlower website titled “More Bacchanal at Sports Company … DINANATH MUST GO!” inserting his own commentary to demonstrate his ill-will and mala fides towards the claimant.
“As the attack was done without any lawful justification or excuse, damage was presumed to arise, requiring neither a special allegation nor proof. In the present matter, however, the claimant produced proof of the damage done by the libel to his professional and personal reputation, specifically his distress, hurt and humiliation on several levels.
“He advanced a strong case as to injury caused to him professionally, financially, personally and in his household, stating that he was a family man who was powerless to shield his loved ones from the defamation. His profession was disrupted and, at the date of the assessment, he was unemployed,” stated the Master.
Ramnarine was represented by attorneys Vivek Lakhan-Joseph and Savini Balroop.
