Bottrill v Cristian & Anor (Civil Dispute)

David Bottrill, the applicant, sought relief from the Civil Dispute Tribunal against Fiona Cristian and another party, who are the respondents. The applicant’s claim was for defamation arising from comments made about him on a website owned by the first respondent. The dispute was heard and determined by the Tribunal, which found in favour of the applicant.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the comments published about the applicant were defamatory and if so, whether the first respondent was liable for those comments. The Tribunal had to determine whether the comments made by the first respondent about the applicant were false and whether they tended to lower the applicant in the estimation of right-thinking members of the society. The Tribunal also considered whether the comments were made with malice, that is, with an intention to cause harm or without just cause or excuse.

The Tribunal found that the comments made by the first respondent were defamatory as they were false, tended to lower the applicant in the estimation of right-thinking members of the society and were made with malice. The Tribunal held that the first respondent was liable for the defamatory comments made by her about the applicant on the website. The Tribunal ordered that the first respondent pay the applicant $10,000 in damages plus $130.00 in allowable costs. The Tribunal also ordered that the first respondent remove all defamatory materials or like imputations relating to the applicant from the website and any other website owned or controlled by her, including any hyperlinks on the internet, immediately upon service of the Orders.