Failing to file his witness statement, the $70 million libel suit which Senior Superintendent of Police Calvin Brutus had filed against retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and former Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Paul Slowe, has been thrown out.
Stabroek News understands that when the matter came up yesterday morning before High Court Judge Simone Morris-Ramlall, it was revealed that Brutus (the Claimant), had not filed his witness statement in accordance with the time previously set by the Court.
This newspaper understands that owing to that breach of the Court’s case management conference (CMC) orders, the action was dismissed; with no order being made as to costs.
It is unclear whether Brutus will be challenging the dismissal.
In his suit, Brutus had claimed that Slowe (the Defendant) made certain defamatory statements against him in various publications on the social media sites between November 2nd, of 2021 and January 12th, of last year.
He contended that the articles complained of have cast aspersions on his integrity, competence and professionalism and that they have caused and continue to cause injury to his reputation; and that the publications had caused him to suffer “considerable hurt, distress and embarrassment;” while advancing that they were deliberate, actuated by malice and were published in retaliation against the criminal charges instituted against him (Slowe).
Brutus had said that he had been exposed to “reputational injury and hurt” and continued to be demeaned in the eyes of his peers and subordinate ranks of the Guyana Police Force; while stating that the publications in question “were calculated to, and did in fact cause” his authority to be questioned.
Brutus was asking the court to grant him an injunction against Slowe publishing the alleged libel and to order him to remove the publications from the internet.
Two months before Brutus’ action, Senior Superintendent Fazil Karimbaksh,had filed an identical suit claiming the same amount against Slowe.
That action is still pending.
Slowe was represented by attorney Nigel Hughes; while both Brutus and Karimbaksh are represented by attorney Chandrapratesh Satram.
