TRINIDAD-Junior government minister appealing near million-dollar defamation judgment.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC -The Court of Appeal has rescheduled to December 17 a matter in which the junior housing minister, Phillip Alexander, is appealing a 2023 ruling that ordered him to pay the daughter of a former prime minister TT$850,000 (One TT dollar = US$ 0.16 in damages for defamation.

The Court of Appeal had originally scheduled the hearing for Monday. Still, Alexander, the political leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP), objected to livestreaming the proceedings involving Patriotic Front political leader Mickela Panday on the Judiciary’s YouTube platform.

In a statement, the Judiciary said it had received an objection to the livestreaming, which the court was considering, and that it would not livestream the proceedings.

It later issued another statement indicating that the matter had been rescheduled to December 17.

“As an attorney at law, I continue to support the Judiciary’s ongoing commitment, as stated on its website last week, to improving public access to justice, promoting transparency and enhancing public understanding of the judicial process,” Panday, the daughter of former prime minister Basdeo Panday, told reporters.

Panday had taken legal action against Alexander based on a live video posted on his personal Facebook page and another page associated with the PEP on July 17, 2020, in which he commented on Panday’s party reversing its decision to contest the 2020 general election.

Justice Devindra Rampersad upheld Panday’s defamation claim, ruling that Alexander’s comments were defamatory and that the court was of the “respectful view” that the statement was malicious and “designed to sensationalize an obvious untruth that was fabricated for personal political gain and to denigrate and disparage the claimant”.

The High Court judge also found that Alexander’s statement did not qualify as responsible journalism, as claimed, adding “there was no source of the information that was given in the video nor did it seem that there were any steps whatsoever taken to verify the information.”

Alexander had been ordered to pay TT$600,000 in general damages and TT$250,000 in exemplary damages.

The court said its assessment took into account Panday’s family name, which she inherited from her father, former prime minister Basdeo Panday, as well as her unblemished personal reputation as an attorney and politician.

Alexander was also ordered to pay TT$97,750 in legal costs for the lawsuit.