Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A former University of T&T (UTT) professor has been ordered to pay $450,000 in compensation to the university’s former president Professor Sarim Al-Zubaidy for defamation.
High Court Judge Ricky Rahim ordered the compensation yesterday as he upheld Al-Zubaidy’s case against Environmental Studies Professor Valerie Stoute.
In the lawsuit, the Iraqi academic claimed that Stoute defamed him in an email sent to former UTT Chairman Professor Kenneth Julien, Deputy Chairman Professor Clement Imbert, and UTT Governor Ulric McNicol in March 2019.
In the correspondence, Stoute questioned Al-Zubaidy’s qualifications and accused him of embellishing his resume. She also alleged that he misappropriated funds and engaged in plagiarism.
Al-Zubaidy, who resigned from UTT in 2020 before taking up an appointment as Executive Vice President of the University of The Bahamas, claimed that the allegations caused him stress and embarrassment and damaged his professional reputation.
In determining the case, Justice Rahim ruled that Stoute’s statements regarding Al-Zubaidy were clearly defamatory and that she did not provide evidence to buttress her claims.
“There appeared to be no reasonable grounds for her believing the things she wrote. When each one is considered above it is clear that her accusations were devoid of merit,” Justice Rahim said.
Justice Rahim still went ahead to consider whether Stoute could benefit from the defamation of defence of qualified privilege.
The defence, which is commonly used by journalists, protects against defamation claims when an individual has a duty or interest, legal, social or moral to make the defamatory statements to the individual who receives them.
Justice Rahim ruled that Stoute’s email was malicious despite her claims that she was providing information that needed to be investigated.
“In this regard, it is clear to the court that the entire email was made with a tone of anger and appeared to be an attempt to reciprocate for the perceived treatment meted out to her by the claimant and his cohorts. The email was riddled with sarcasm and innuendo,” he said.
“Clearly the tone of the email was highly accusatory in retaliation for her removal from the institution. It was not to report on matters with which she was concerned,” he added.
In assessing the compensation for Al-Zubaidy, Justice Rahim considered the effect of the statements on his professional reputation.
“The court has also considered that in his field of work, statements of that type are damning and have the potential to gravely affect credibility in a profession where credibility is of paramount importance,” he said.
Justice Rahim noted that Al-Zubaidy’s professional life had been affected in a tangible manner, he pointed out that Al-Zubaidy now lives in New Zealand and is currently unemployed.
However, he noted that Al-Zubaidy was not entitled to the $600,000 in damages he claimed.
“Firstly, there is no evidence that he cannot get employment and secondly the fact that he no longer resides in T&T has dulled the effect of the statements somewhat as a matter of logic,” he said.
As part of his judgment, Justice Rahim ordered Stoute to pay Al-Zubaidy’s legal costs for the lawsuit.
Al-Zubaidy was represented by Rhea Sookhai and Skeeta John, while Richard Jaggasar represented Stoute.