Former Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj has agreed to withdraw his defamation lawsuit against Jack Warner’s Sunshine newspaper.
Maharaj did so yesterday after attorneys for the colleagues, turned political foes, struck a settlement agreement on the eve of the trial of the case before Justice James Aboud in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday.
While the details of the settlement were not revealed in court during the brief hearing, the T&T Guardian understands it included an apology to Maharaj which is to be published on the front page of next week’s edition of the weekly publication.
Before disposing of the case, Aboud thanked the attorneys for avoiding a lengthy trial.
“I commend you for resolving this dispute without acrimony,” he said.
Maharaj’s lawsuit centered around two investigative reports published between July and September 2012 which alleged impropriety against Maharaj in his handling of issues surrounding State-owned entities under his ministry, including the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
According to his statement of case, the “defamatory imputations contained in the two articles have sullied the reputable character of the claimant, undermining his integrity and moral standing on a national and international scale.
“The disparagement of the claimant’s character, credit and reputation has caused the claimant to suffer considerable distress and embarrassment.”
It also said the articles were published “not caring whether they were true or false and with the belief that the profit from sale of the said editions of the said newspaper will far exceed any damages they may be ordered to pay to the claimant.”
In addition to compensation, Maharaj was also seeking an injunction preventing Warner, the newspaper’s editor, Anthony Alexis, and reporter, Azad Ali, from publishing further articles on the issue.
Maharaj’s lawsuit is one of several filed against Warner since he resigned as a government minister in 2013, following corruption allegations during his two-decade tenure as vice-president of world football’s governing body Fifa.
In 2014, Warner was ordered to pay $275,000 in compensation to Faaiq Mohammed, one of his Independent Liberal Party (ILP) local government councillors, who he accused of taking a bribe.
Last year, Justice Robin Mohammed ordered Warner to pay former attorney general Anand Ramlogan almost $900,000 in damages for defamation.
Besides his legal woes for libel, Warner is currently challenging his extradition to the United States where he faces fraud and money laundering charges arising out of a US Department of Justice investigation into Fifa officials.
Warner was represented by Keith Scotland and Asha Watkins-Montserin. Maharaj’s legal team comprised Jagdeo Singh, Larry Lalla and Michael Rooplal.