Redress Law obtain Libel damages from National Newspaper
Redress Law have recently secured libel damages and an apology for a client. We were contacted by a client who wanted to pursue a libel claim against a well known national newspaper. Mr A contacted us when he became aware that a national newspaper had printed a story about his ex girlfriend, Miss B. The story wrongly suggested that Mr A had posted nude pictures of Miss B online. In fact, no such pictures had ever been taken or posted online by Mr A.
The newspaper had portrayed Mr A in such a way that suggested he had no respect for human dignity or privacy and that he was responsible for the damage that was subsequently caused to Miss B’s reputation. The article was defamatory and Mr A’s reputation had been severely damaged as a result. For example, Mr A had received a number of threatening emails and messages from people who knew both him and Miss B. Also, Mr A ran his own business and was worried this would be damaged by the unfounded allegations. He therefore contacted Redress Law for help.
Defamation claim
Redress wrote to the newspaper setting out the basis of Mr A’s claim which was that the newspaper had committed libel against Mr A by publishing a story which presented an inaccurate and misleading account of Mr A which would lead any reasonable person to believe that Mr A had caused subsequent damage to Miss B’s reputation. The result of the newspaper’s inaccurate account meant that the reasonable person was left questioning Mr A’s innocence.
All newspapers have a duty to maintain professional standards and to take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information. This newspaper had clearly breached their duty in this case.
Damages and an apology
Redress Law successfully recovered a substantial amount of damages for Mr A. We forced the newspaper to remove the online article that had caused harm to Mr A.
We also secured a signed agreement with the newspaper that they would not republish the article and would keep it withdrawn from their website. Finally, a letter was sent from the Managing Editor of the national newspaper to Mr A apologising for failing to report in a balanced an accurate way. This letter was also published in the national newspaper, as a public apology is a remedy a court can order in addition to compensation.
Slander and libel are complex areas of law. It is important to get the right legal advice before beginning any claim for defamation.
