Can you imagine having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a reckless facebook post? Well, that's what the court has told Moses Sulph to do after he slandered former UDP Politician Mark King.
The case went all the way to the Supreme Court where Justice Sonya Young today handed down a ruling which could gave far reaching consequences for those who like to bash others on Facebook.
In March of last year King sued Sulph after he claimed Sulph unfairly slandered him and his company name on Facebook. The post, which Sulph admitted he made, alleged that Brints Security Company, was not paying employees' salaries promised for overtime and extra duties.
But Sulph couldn't prove it in court and Justice Young awarded King $10,000 dollars for aggravated damages and $20,000 dollars for general damages, plus costs. So, that's 30 thousand dollars in damages Sulph has to pay King, all for a Facebook post. And to that you can add the costs for King's attorneys, Steve Perrera and Payal Ghanwani.
To our knowledge, it's a landmark ruling because it is the largest award we have heard of for Facebook slander. Today's ruling - if not appealed - could well set a precedent for future defamations cases involving facebook posts.
In an interview today King told us why he felt compelled to seek legal action against Sulph.
Mark King, Won Court Ruling
"I had to defend it, because it affected my political reputation and it affected my business profits. Therefore I had to prove that my business, my company was doing the right thing which has been proven now. So there is a profound interest there and I had to prove that my reputation and character stands for what it is. Not because you own a company means that you manage the company. There will always be little things that goes wrong, which can be fixed. Doesn't means overall you're not wrong. The buck stops at you. But at the end of the day no one has that right to damage and tarnish your character based on what they hear on facebook."
Reporter
"How was your business affected apart from its public reputation?"
Mark King, Won Court Ruling
"We lost clients for sure amounting to the tune of thousands of dollars and we will certainly use this case to indicate to our future clients, because we are a corporate company. At the end of the day they must not go by what they hear on facebook and that we can certainly win a case by taking it to court."
Reporter
"But you are happy with the settlement, the $30,000. You think it vindicates you and repairs damages to your company. You said monies were lost."
Mark King, Won Court Ruling
"Damage done can never be repaired. The $30,000 plus $10,000 awarded to our team is to be attributed to the fact that the attorneys Steve Perrera and company is a really good company that looks into the details and the interest of those who are law abiding citizens. We must never forget the fact that at the end of the day it is to them we owe that, but to what we giveth is to the people of Belize whose names are being tarnished on facebook. This is a monumental case now for Belizeans to challenge what they put about them on facebook."
We note that during the trial Sulph brought several witnesses, who testified and spoke of gripes they had with the company. However, today the judge found that the witnesses provided no conclusive evidence that proved any malpractice. As such the judge concluded that the defense's arguments were based purely on hearsay and conjecture.
Sulph was defended by Arthur Saldivar.
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