By Ashley Young-
A solicitor who claimed her reputation had been destroyed in a Facebook post has lost a High Court libel claim.
A North London solicitor has lost a six-figure libel claim over a post on a tiny Facebook campaign page that didn’t name her. Dr Katherine Alexander-Theodotou applied for £900,000 damages for the allegedly defamatory post, as well as a webinar. She accused her of failing clients in litigation over mis-sold villas in Cyprus. Theodotou is a qualified lawyer in Cyprus as well as in the UK, practising in Highgate Hill Solicitors.
The Facebook post was written by the defendant to the case, legal consultant Georgios Kounis. He made his comments on a campaign page related to the Cypriot scandal.The post referred to a Mr Davies who had lost everything in the mis-selling scandal and was said to have taken his own life. It added that mr.Davies was known to have been hit particularly hard by a London legal firm who took almost £30,000 in fees, before apparently breaching the terms of their retainer and forcing the Davies’ to fund alternative representation”.
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The defence argued that only a “very limited class of people” would have picked up on that. Dr Katherine Alexander-Theodotou of London firm Highgate Hill Solicitors claimed more than £900,000 over a webinar and Facebook post containing allegations about the handling of litigation arising from the alleged mis-selling of the lan property in Cyprus. Kounis described the defamation claim as ‘irrelevant and vexatious’ and applied to the court to have it struck out.
According to the claim, he had ‘conspired’ with former clients to harm Alexander-Theodotou’s reputation and encourage complaints to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Legal Ombudsman. In the High Court, Alexander-Theodotou argued that her reputation had been seriously harmed and her businesses was likely to suffer serious financial loss as a result of the post. Her lawyers said she had suffered ‘considerable hurt, distress and embarrassment which is continuing’ and that Kounis had damaged her health and trust of clients through his six-year campaign.
Kounis denied being responsible for the webinar but admitted responsibility or the Facebook post. He said the claimant could not prove the post referred to her, and insisted it was not defamatory. He said it was tendentious and emotional’, imputing all manner of wrongdoing in a ‘scattergun manner’.
Warby J ruled that it was not established that the publication complained of had caused serious harm. He saw no sound basis for a reasonable reader linking Alexander-Theodotou to the deceased man, and the few who did know her role were either dissatisfied ex-clients or others who had already made complaints. In this respect, no material harm was done.
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