Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has been ordered by the High Court to pay Opposition Member of Parliament and former Junior Communities Minister Annette Ferguson $20 million in damages for libel he caused against her.
Ferguson had filed the lawsuit against Jagdeo and the Guyana Times while he was Opposition Leader and she was a Government Minister.
The lawsuit stemmed from statements Jagdeo made in the media about Ferguson’s acquisition of land and construction of her house.
Her Attorneys had maintained that the statements were reckless, libelous and were designed to damage her character.
In the ruling, High Court Judge Sandra Kurtzious ordered that failure by the defendant to comply with the decision of the Court would see him being held in contempt of the Court’s orders and facing prison time or confiscation of assets.
The case was filed in January 2020 and referenced the statements that were made by Mr. Jagdeo in December 2019.
The Attorneys for the former Minister presented various documents to the Court detailing her purchase of the land and construction of her home through a bank loan. The lawyers argued that Mr. Jagdeo needed to provide evidence to back up his claims.
He never did and the Judgment was granted against him.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login