Embattled Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner has been ordered to pay former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, almost a $1 million in compensation after accusing Ramlogan of corruption while in office.
High Court judge Robin Mohammed made the award to Ramlogan, one of the highest in libel cases in T&T, yesterday after ruling that Warner’s allegation that Ramlogan acquired a large property portfolio by corrupt means during his tenure as AG was unfounded and caused serious damage to Ramlogan’s reputation.
Last month, Warner lost another defamation lawsuit to local government councillor Faaiq Mohammed whom he had accused of taking a bribe. He was ordered to pay $275,000 in that case.
In his 57-page judgment, delivered at the Hall of Justice yesterday, Mohammed rejected all four defences raised by Warner to justify making the erroneous statement.
Ramlogan will not be able to claim the compensation immediately as he acceded to a request from Warner’s legal team for a 28-day stay of execution of the judgment to allow them to file an appeal.
Speaking with reporters after his legal victory, Ramlogan warned Warner that his appeal may lead to an increase in the award of damages.
“If Mr Warner wants to appeal, I may very well consider appealing, saying the amount should go up. I honestly hope if he wants to appeal he should pay the money into court, given the limited duration he might have left in T&T,” Ramlogan said in an obvious jab at Warner, who is facing extradition to the United States on corruption charges arising out of his over two-decade tenure as Fifa vice-president.
Stating he felt happy and vindicated by the judgment, Ramlogan criticised Warner for continuously making similar “outrageous and malicious” accusations against his other political rivals.
“Mr Warner has made a trademark for himself in politics by making malicious and scandalous accusations. I see he is doing the same thing with the Prime Minister now and when the time comes to produce the evidence to back it up what he does is cry wolf and run away.
“His day will come, not only in my matter but with respect to many others against who he has made the most scandalous accusations without any shred of evidence,” Ramlogan said.
Warner’s latest allegation accuses Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of accepting $8.3 million in bribes from party financiers Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson to create a loophole for them not to be tried on criminal offences linked to the Piarco Airport project.
Galbaransingh and Ferguson are wanted in the United States but a High Court judge ruled against their extradition saying the proper forum for them to be tried was in T&T. Police have since launched an investigation into those allegations.
Ramlogan said he would continue to defend his reputation in several defamation lawsuits against the Opposition Leader for other issues which were yet to go to trial.
“I will continue to guard jealously and fearlessly my reputation and character because I have come from nothing and worked my way up through hard work and sacrifice,” Ramlogan said.
Judge’s Findings
In his judgment, Justice Mohammed ruled that Ramlogan was entitled to $800,000 in damages as the damage to Ramlogan’s reputation as a lawyer and politician was severe. He was also ordered to pay $94,000 in legal costs.
“Such objective of political gain ought not to have been pursued at the costs of lowering the claimant’s reputation in the estimation of right-thinking members of the public, discrediting the claimant in his Office as Attorney General of T&T and exposing him and his family to ridicule and contempt, particularly in the circumstances where the defendant showed no evidence or belief in the truth of the defamatory statements,” Mohammed said.
The judge also said Warner’s liability was exacerbated by the fact that he (Warner) chose to defend the claim and force Ramlogan to endure a trial.
“The instant matter necessitates the award of heightened sum of damages as a result of the aforementioned aggravating factors, that is, the defendant’s lack of apology and his persistence in an unfounded defence of justification,” Mohammed said.
While Mohammed criticised Warner for contesting the claim, he stated that Ramlogan was not entitled to interest on his compensation as he failed to request that as a relief when he first filed the lawsuit in January last year.
Ramlogan’s legal team included Senior Counsel Avory Sinanan, Kelvin Ramkissoon, Gerald Ramdeen and Varun Debideen. Warner, who attended all hearings of the trial, was not present in court for the delivery of the judgment.
He was represented by Keith Scotland, Jacqueline Chang and Asha Watkins.