Former Deputy Commissioner of Police, Owen Clunie, has won his multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against his one time boss the former Commissioner of Police Francis Forbes.
A jury on Wednesday night found that Mr Forbes libelled Mr Clunie in two television interviews.
Mr. Clunie has been awarded 35 million dollars in damages. The Attorney General was also a party to the libel claim, because of Mr Forbes' position as Commissioner.
The case grabbed headlines back in 2002, and again in 2005 based on two television interviews on CVM Television. The heavyweights were the former Commissioner of Police Francis Forbes who made comments about the former Deputy Commissioner of Police Owen Clunie.
The defences put forward to the claim were Justification, Qualified Privilege and Fair Comment.
Attorney representing Mr Clunie, Alando Terrelonge, from the firm Bailey Terrelonge Allen, explained that the jurors found that there was no justification for the words Mr Forbes used in the interviews, and that he acted maliciously, so he could not rely on qualified privilege and fair comment as defences.
As such they arrived at the 35 million dollar award.
CVM Television escaped liability, as the jury found that despite some sensationalism, the occasion was privileged due to its national importance, and there was no malice involved.
Mr Terrelonge was elated at the verdict.
Mr Terrelonge anticipates an appeal based on the size of the award, but feels it was justified
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