VICE-PRESIDENT, Dr. Bharrat Jadgeo, has filed a $5 million lawsuit against social media personality Bryan ‘Max’ Mackintosh for defamation.

Jagdeo, who is also the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), through his attorneys Sanjeev Datadin and Khalif Cobin, recently filed the lawsuit at the Demerara High Court.

According to the statement of claim seen by this newspaper, Mackintosh during a live audio/video broadcast on November 9, 2023, on his Facebook page using the ‘Facebook Live’ feature, delivered a video characterised as “aggressive” and “menacing” toward Jagdeo.

In the video, Mackintosh, employing a series of expletives, alleged that Jagdeo orchestrated individuals to harm him.
The document states, “The words in their natural and ordinary meaning meant and were understood to mean that the claimant was directly involved in the apparent sabotage of the defendant’s vehicle, to wit, the cutting of his brakes line with the objective of causing the death of the defendant.

“The clear words accuse the claimant and/ or the claimant’s agents of cutting the defendant’s brakes line on his motor car with the view of precipitating the death of the defendant.”
Jagdeo’s legal representatives contend that these words, and any reasonable inferences, are entirely false and lack any foundation in reality, whether real or imaginary.
The initial Facebook publication by the defendant has been followed by repeated similar words and sentiments on various occasions on Mackintosh’s Facebook page. The document describes these repetitions as “fanciful, illogical, overly dramatised, nonsensical, and non-sequitur narrations which repeat and reinforce, using similar words.”
In the lawsuit, Jagdeo asserts that the slanderous words aimed at him by Mackintosh were intentionally calculated to disparage him, embarrass, humiliate, and damage his reputation and standing as a public official.

Jagdeo is asking the court to grant an injunction to restrain Mackintosh, his servants, agents, or employees from further speaking or publishing similar defamatory statements.
Additionally, he is requesting a court order for Mackintosh to remove the defamatory video and issue an apology.