KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent– Radio talk show host Eduardo “E.G.” Lynch has lost a third appeal in a defamation case brought against him by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
The Court of Appeal, in the most recent judgement, ruled that Lynch pay Gonsalves damages of EC$140,000.
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Lynch must also pay EC$20,000 cost at the High Court and EC$20,000 cost in the Court of Appeal and interest from the date of assessment, which was in 2008.
“Now, that is a significant judgement,” said Gonsalves’s lawyer Anthony Astaphan, adding that the judgement “has to be, if not the highest, one of the highest award for defamation in the history of the [Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States].”
“The critical question in that appeal was whether or not Dr. Ralph Gonsalves was entitled to significant damages, whether significant damages would fetter freedom of expression or constitute a chilling effect, whether or not they should pay cost and interest to Dr. Gonsalves,” Astaphan said on Thursday while commenting on the ruling.
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The case, which was also brought against BDS Ltd., owners of NICE Radio, stemmed from Lynch’s accusing Gonsalves of using public funds to finance a trip to Rome for members of his family.