Van West Charles wins $10M judgment in libel case against K/News

Nov 14, 2021 News

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– KN publisher moves to stay judgment, file appeal

Kaieteur News – Dr. Richard Van West Charles, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and Head of Atlantic Fuels Inc, has secured judgment to the tune of $10 million in a defamation claim against Kaieteur News (KN).

The former GWI boss had sued the publication in 2019 for an article headlined “Van West Charles’ fuel company under the spotlight for under-invoicing – tenders fake documents to GRA.”
KN’s publisher, Glenn Lall, has already indicated that he will be taking steps to ask for a stay of the judgment and file an appeal.
Dr. Van West Charles’ judgment follows a list of decisions in libel suits granted against KN and its publisher, Glenn Lall. The newspapers is currently involved in a similar dispute with former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL), Winston Brassington, where he sued the newspaper 19 times in one day for contents of the satirical Dem Boys Seh article and was awarded close to $40 million by two judges.
Last year, Justice Fidela Corbin tried five of the cases and awarded $3.5M each, with a four percent interest after she found that the newspaper could not adequately defend the case. She later tried another one and awarded him $2M with interest.
Brassington won his case before Justice Navindra Singh, who tried one of the libel matters. Brassington was awarded $10M with interest by Justice Singh who also tried another case with ex-President Donald Ramotar, to whom he awarded him $20M with interest for libel.
Last week, Justice Singh tried another libel case, in which Dr. Van West Charles was awarded 10M with interest in addition to $1.6 million court costs.
In the case against KN, Dr. Van West Charles had claimed that the newspaper published content against him which meant or were understood to mean that he was unfit to hold public office. That he and his company were involved in criminal conduct, including under-invoicing of fuel purchases for the purposes of evading taxes and smuggling of fuel, which are crimes against the State of Guyana. Dr. Van West Charles said that among other things, the article insinuated that he had corruptly secured a fuel import licence.
He contended however in the court case that the claims of the publications were false and caused significant harm and injury to his reputation and lowered his standing in Guyana and the international community and has brought him into public odium. In his ruling delivered on November 5, 2021, Justice Navindra Singh awarded the plaintiff $10M against KN.
In his written judgment which was disseminated shortly after the case concluded last Friday, Justice Singh took a number of issues into consideration. Among them, were the contents of the article and the defense of the newspaper and its publisher.
As it relates to the publication, Justice Singh noted that the first quarter of the article was dedicated to a discourse on fuel smuggling in Guyana, after which the article then purports to report that Atlantic Fuels Inc. which is owned by Dr. Van West Charles is the subject of an investigation by the GRA.

Taking the issues mentioned above into context, the judge noted that the article clearly leaves it open for the inference to be drawn that the plaintiffs are fuel smugglers and are being investigated for participating in such activity.
As it regards, the defense provided by the newspaper and its publisher, the court found that it did not satisfy the grounds of fair comment.
Fair comment is defined as a “common law defense that guarantees the freedom of the press to express statements on matters of public interest, as long as the statements are not made with ill will, spite, or with the intent to harm the plaintiff.
Expounding on the issue of fair comment in his decision, Justice Singh reasoned that the method of defense is not available to the newspaper in this case, since the articles purport to be reporting facts, to wit, unlawful and/or improper acts done by the Claimants.
The judge said too: “The Defendants [Lall and Kaieteur News] did not present any evidence to the Court to show that the Claimants were involved in fuel smuggling. In fact, the testimony of Lall suggests that they did not even harbour the belief that the claimants [Dr. Van West Charles and Atlantic Fuel Inc] were involved in fuel smuggling.
“In any event, the particular of justification with respect to linking the claimants to fuel smuggling pleaded… the Defense is nonsensical and does not even pretend to justify the article.” The judge added in his consideration.
As such, in assessing the appropriate quantum of damages in this case, the court took into consideration that the libel attacked the personal integrity and professional reputation of Dr. Van West Charles who was and is a very public figure. Also that the claimant served in very high public office of the land and was at the time serving as a senior public official; and as a result, the nature of the libel was bound to cause distress, hurt and humiliation to Dr. Van West Charles and damage the Atlantic Fuels Inc reputation in the business world.
Additionally, the court took into consideration that information published by KN is being disseminated via the World Wide Web and would have had the widest distribution possible. “And of course it is a well-established and accepted fact that material published on the World Wide Web is available for public consumption for eternity,” the court said.
Taking all of these matters into account, the judge awarded Dr. Van West Charles damages in the sum of $10 million, which includes an assessment of aggravated damages and damages for defamation.
The judgment also stipulates the award of interest at the rate of six percent per annum from August 5th, 2019 to November 5th, 2021 and four percent per annum thereafter until fully paid in addition to the sum of $1,650,000.00 as prescribed costs to Dr. Van West Charles against the newspaper and its publisher.

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