A $150M lawsuit mounted against Attorney-at-Law, Sanjeev Datadin and the News Room by the former Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Roxanne Myers, has been dismissed.
The decision in the 2021 matter was handed down today by Justice Navindra Singh.
Myers had sued the News Room and the lawyer for comments she said were “slanderous and defamatory” regarding her actions during the recount of the votes cast in the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Through her Attorneys-at-law, Myers sought $100 Million from Datadin for defamation published by NewsRoom. She also sought $50 Million from the media house over the statement circulated and asked the court to award her aggravated and exemplary damages, costs, and interest.
In the State of Claims filed, Myers explained that on March 6, 2020, at GECOM’s Command Centre, Datadin, in an interview, made certain defamatory statements about her which the News Room later carried.
In the three minutes long video, Myers noted that Datadin said that she acted illegally, corruptly, and ultra vires in her capacity as Deputy Chief Election Officer related to the results for Region Four – the largest voting district.
The former DCEO stated that the allegations leveled against her by Datadin, which were later carried by the News Room, have “substantially hurt” and “diminished her image in the eyes and minds of Guyanese and the international community.”
However, the court found that the defendants successfully established the defense of truth, dismissing Myers’ claims and ordering her to pay $500,000 in costs to each defendant by September 12, 2024.
Datadin and News Room’s lawyers were successful in shifting the burden in defense of truth to Myers. She was to specifically deny or counter the factual claims made by the defendant. In other words, Myers needed to provide evidence or arguments that refuted the truthfulness of the statements made by Sanjeev Datadin and published by the News Room.
In her case, Myers issued a general denial but failed to specifically address or rebut the detailed factual allegations presented by Datadin in his defense. This lack of a specific rebuttal meant that the court had no reason to doubt the truth of Datadin’s statements. Consequently, the court found favor with the defendants, dismissing Myers’ claims on the grounds that she did not adequately challenge the truth of the statements.
In a similar fashion, Myers’ lawsuit against the Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo and the News Room was dismissed and the defendants were both awarded $500,000. Myers issued a general denial but failed to specifically address or rebut the detailed factual allegations presented.
Jagdeo had claimed during the recount of the votes cast in the 2020 election, among other things, that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson, Claudette Singh was being held hostage by Myers in a room at the Ashmin’s Building.
