FORMER Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and Director of Atlantic Fuels Inc, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, was recently awarded $10M in damages, after he won his defamation case against the Kaieteur News and its publisher, Glenn Lall.

The damages in the claim filed by Dr. Van-West Charles in 2019, through his attorney, Rexford Jackson, were awarded by Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court on November 5, 2021.

In his lawsuit, Dr. Van-West Charles contended that during January to March, 2019, the defendants published a series of articles pertaining to him that sullied his reputation.

He claimed that the publications were false and caused significant harm and injury to his reputation and lowered his standing in Guyana and the international community and had brought him into public odium.

However, Kaieteur News claimed, “fair comment” and “justification” as their defence.

Nevertheless, Justice Singh, having examined the evidence, found that the Kaieteur News failed to provide any documentary or other evidence to prove the veracity of the statements, and that in its defence, it had instead outlined several averments with respect to the alleged facts upon which the defence of fair comment is based.

Justice Singh, in his ruling, said that the defendants did not present any evidence to the court to show that Dr. Van-West Charles and his company were involved in fuel-smuggling. In fact, the testimony of Lall suggested that they did not even harbour the belief that the claimants were involved in this illegal activity.

In the circumstances, the judge said that the particular justification raised by the defendants with respect to using fuel smuggling as a defence was “nonsensical and does not even pretend to justify the article.”

Also, the judge ruled that the defence of fair comment is not available to the defendants in this case, since the articles purported to be reporting facts, to wit, unlawful and/ or improper acts done by the claimant.

And with the articles having been published online and having reached outside the jurisdiction, Justice Singh found that the words complained of would convey to any ordinary, reasonable reader that Dr. Van-West Charles was dishonest. He pointed out that the Kaieteur News had, at no time, either apologised nor issued a retraction.

In the circumstances, the court found that the publication clearly attacked Dr. Van-West Charles’ character, labelling him as a dishonest person who engages in fraudulent or criminal practices, without setting out, factually, any conduct from the claimant to justify such a comment.

In assessing the appropriate quantum of damages in the case, the court took into consideration the libellous attack on the claimant’s personal integrity and professional reputation, and the fact that he was a public figure.

Among other things, the judge placed weight on the fact that the defendants had not apologised or expressed any regret over the publications and had persisted with the publications, despite being written to by the claimant and his attorney.

He also highlighted that the defamatory articles were published multiple times and “there appears to be no journalistic investigation as to the accuracy of the statements being published.

“This demonstrates a reckless disregard for the harm that false reporting can cause, and a stout refusal by the defendants to engage in ethical and fair reporting, and rather seem prepared to publish scandalous articles to boost the sale of the newspapers,” the judge said.

Taking all of the foregoing matters into account, the judge awarded damages in the sum of $10M, which includes an interest on the said award at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from August 5, 2019 to November 5, 2021 and 4 per cent per annum thereafter until fully paid. He also awarded the sum of $1.6M as costs.