Tory donor's libel claim thrown out of court

The long running case of Amersi v Leslie has come to an end, with the most senior defamation judge, His Honourable Justice Nicklin, refusing to allow Mr Amersi to change the way in which his claim had been pleaded. 

Mr Amersi, who has donated over half a million pounds to the Conservative Party over the years, appears to have fallen out with them completely, as a result of the events leading up to this case. His claim had already been struck out, but Mr Amersi launched a last-ditched attempt to revive it, by seeking the Court's permission to amend his case. 

Mr Amersi alleged that Mr Leslie's publication of documents which contained statements about him, had caused serious harm to his reputation. However Judge Nicklin disagreed that any serious harm had been caused, saying the defamation case was "fanciful and devoid of reality".  

The Judge was particularly critical of the witness statement Mr Amersi had submitted to the Court in support of his application, saying that it contained material which was irrelevant to the case, which had apparently been included in an attempt at "settling scores" rather than genuinely advancing the claim. 

Mr Amersi was also criticised for the way he had conducted himself during the course of the litigation, spending huge sums and giving interviews about the case to the press. 

The Judge therefore decided that Mr Amersi should not get another bite at the cherry, as it was clear he was never going to be able to demonstrate that serious harm had been caused to his reputation as a result of the publications which he alleged were defamatory. 

The Judge was very clear that no further Court time will be spent dealing with this case. 

The judgment serves as a warning to claimants in defamation cases who use the proceedings to try to embarrass their opponent. Admittedly, such cases are likely to be extremely rare, as defamation claims are expensive to bring. However, the Judge's comments are a reminder that witness evidence should not stray beyond what is relevant to the case, and that the conduct of the parties can influence how cases are dealt with. 

If your reputation has been harmed by defamatory statements, you should not delay in taking action. You have 12 months to start a claim and the Court may look unfavourably if you wait until the full 12 months is nearly up, before issuing your claim. 

Contact us today for an initial discussion with an expert defamation solicitor.