Injunction for defamation

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Maryb50

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Hi! Just wondered who pays if my solicitor has to get an injunction for defamatory comments made on Social Media. Is it a Circuit Court or High Court issue? Will it be an interlocutory injunction of permanent injunction. Compensation isn't the main issue, it's the threats to put more defamatory comments on social media. Will an injunction put an end to it?
 
Maryb50 said:
Hi! Just wondered who pays if my solicitor has to get an injunction for defamatory comments made on Social Media. Is it a Circuit Court or High Court issue? Will it be an interlocutory injunction of permanent injunction. Compensation isn't the main issue, it's the threats to put more defamatory comments on social media. Will an injunction put an end to it?
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+1 Brendan's advices.

Some general observations to help you on your way.

The Circuit Court and the High Court both have jurisdiction in relation to defamation / libel matters.

Which court you opt for depends on the likely value of your case. The Circuit Court upper jurisdiction is €75,000.

There is also a Circuit Court option to have defamatory material corrected but I think that there are no damages awardable additionally.

You would not be seeking a permanent injunction at this stage. If you can justify the application for an injunction you may only expect to get one on an interim basis. The expected order would be the prohibition sought pending trial of the principal issue. At trial of the principal issue(s) the question of the injunction can then be dealt with definitively e.g lifted or made permanent.

Be aware that this type of litigation can be quite expensive.

BTW this looks like another one of those cases where people write defamatory statements about others and think that there is some magical cloak of invisibility because it is delivered through social media.

P.S. You pay your lawyers costs pending final resolution in court. The trial judge decides the issue of costs
 
Hi! Dirt Devil and Brendan, thanks for your replies. I'm confused with what my solicitor says. The guy has no assets, house etc, but it appears quite good income from his company. Which is the least expensive option - straight to trial or an injunction. My solicitor talks in riddles, and says it's not worth going after someone who has no definite assets, just income, but still stays what was said on social media was extremely defamatory. My solicitor and the barrister he has consulted, expect that I would win. So is the option immediate injunction, or proceed to trial and have the judge order the person to take it down. Who pays my solicitors costs if I win. I presumed it would be the guy that defamed me, but if the solicitor can't get paid by him after an order for costs, what then?

In relation to the cloak of invisibility - this person left his name on the social media page with his defamatory comment - he is well known in locality, so he did not even try to be invisible. So visible was it that my solicitor didn't believe initially that someone would be so flagrant about it.
 
Maryb50 said:
My solicitor talks in riddles, and says it's not worth going after someone who has no definite assets, just income, but still stays what was said on social media was extremely defamatory.
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If your solicitor speaks in riddles, then get a new solicitor.

But it sounds to me as if he is giving you good advice. There is no point in going after someone with no assets.

Unless you want to pay the costs of an injunction up front.

Brendan
 
Resolving personal disputes through the courts is never a good idea, and that is before you consider the costs.

If the comments warrant it you could consider making a criminal complaint to the Gardai. It is actually likely to be a less stressful experience and would probably give you a better outcome. It also avoids the ruinous expense of the courts.
 
Thanks Brendan and creme. Cremes. How can I make a criminal complaint to the Gardai. They see it as a civil matter. Can I just ask also, if any of you had received a comment that was really utterly defamatory and affected your career, would you go to Court. I am not interested in compensation, just in having the stuff removed, and the cheapest way of doing this. The person who defamed me is the admin person of the business page of my social media. Creme egg, what does this come under if I was to make a criminal complaint to the Gardai - what legislation?
 
Maryb50 said:
The person who defamed me is the admin person of the business page of my social media.
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I dont know what this means. AAM is about the height of my social media experience.

Maryb50 said:
Creme egg, what does this come under if I was to make a criminal complaint to the Gardai - what legislation?
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I have no idea. Knowing the law is the Gardai's business not yours. There is nothing to stop you making a complaint. If they say that its a civil matter you can ask to talk to their superior, say you will speak to your TD, ask them to inquire into why Gardai are not taking the matter seriously etc. etc. All the usual stuff to get a public sector organisation to move.

In fairness I am aware of a number of personal disputes between neighbours where one party made a complaint to Gardai. In each case the Gardai spoke to both parties and resolved the situation. In my experience the Gardai handle such matters well. The person who made the comments might well take them down if they were contacted by Gardai.[/QUOTE]
 
Have you highlighted the comments to the social media platform. Maybe they could lock the account if you prove it was intended to be for your business.
 
Hi! lostheplot. Yes, I reported the page, and the defamatory comment has now been removed. However, the defamatory remarks were made on a business page on my social media platform, that was set up by the ex web designer, he is the admin of that page, but not the second business page that I set up afterwards - so he can effectively post again on it, as he has threatened to so, and people can still search for my business name, and this can come up, with his poor rating, but without the comment. So I want this page taken down. Does anyone know how this can be done. Do I write to the social media people - they don't have a tick box for this type of thing on their reporting links.
 
The only criminal possibility that occurs to me is to make a complaint of harassment as envisaged under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. In particular, look at Paragraphs (2) (a) and (b) which define the offence. Candidly, I think that it might be a stretch to expect a prosecution but it would be worth doing. It might be better to get your solicitor to make the complaint in writing to the Gardaí to lessen the possibility of the oft rendered initial response that this matter should be left to "civil remedy":rolleyes:

link http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1997/act/26/section/10/enacted/en/html#sec10
 
DirectDevil said:
Candidly, I think that it might be a stretch to expect a prosecution
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Garda intervention in a case like this can have an effect long before a prosecution. If a Guard was to call to the person complained of to say, "we are looking into a complaint we have received" it might achieve a positive reaction.

DirectDevil said:
It might be better to get your solicitor to make the complaint in writing to the Gardaí to lessen the possibility of the oft rendered initial response that this matter should be left to "civil remedy":rolleyes:
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I would certainly try that if an initial complaint, in person, wasn't working.
 
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