Taylor Hampton acted for Tamim Rashed
At the Remedies Hearing on 1 December 2023 in the libel action brought by Mr. Rashed against Mr. Deane, The Honourable Mrs Justice Tipples awarded Mr. Rashed the following relief in respect of what the Judge has ruled were false and untrue allegations published by Mr. Deane:
1. A payment by way of damages in the sum of £85,000;
2. An injunction prohibiting Mr. Deane from republishing or continuing to publish any allegation that Mr. Rashed:
a. defrauded Mr. Deane in respect to any alleged stake in Expertise Consultancy Libya Company for Security and Safety LLC (or a purported entity using a similar name); and/or
b. stole assets and/or money from Mr. Deane in the course of a business enterprise in Libya; and/or
c. unlawfully obtained control of Expertise Consultancy Libya Company for Security and Safety LLC (or a purported entity using a similar name); and/or
d. engaged in fraudulent practices; and/or
e. paid bribes to militiamen using company funds in the operation of Expertise Consultancy Libya Company for Security and Safety LLC (or a purported entity using a similar name)
or any words that are similarly defamatory of the Claimant.
3. An order that Mr. Deane is required to publish on his LinkedIn page a summary of the Court’s judgment; and
4. An order that Mr. Deane pay Mr. Rashed’s costs of and occasioned by the proceedings, to be assessed if not agreed, and an order that Mr. Deane pay Mr. Rashed the sum of £30,000 by way of an interim payment on account of those costs.
Background
The background to the claim is as follows: the former employee, Mr. Deane, was engaged as a consultant Operations Manager between January 2017 and in or around May 2021. Between September 2022 and November 2022, Mr. Deane published a number of posts on his LinkedIn page which were highly defamatory of Expertise Consultancy’s Managing Director, Mr. Rashed. In summary, these posts falsely alleged that Mr. Deane was the founder of Expertise Consultancy, owned 50% of it, and carried out work in that capacity. Further, the 5 statements complained about falsely accused Mr. Rashed of committing fraud, including defrauding Mr. Deane by ‘stealing’ Expertise Consultancy, as well as assets and money from him. We are aware that those allegations, and allegations of a similar nature have been repeated by Mr. Deane across various social media platforms and directly to clients of Expertise Consultancy.
In November 2022, Mr. Rashed commenced proceedings for libel in respect of the 5 statements published by Mr. Deane on his LinkedIn page.
Over the course of the proceedings, Mr. Deane has submitted 4 defences. Each of those defences were woefully inadequate in terms of their lack of particulars and failure to advance a coherent defence that could be reasonably responded to by Mr. Rashed. Mr. Deane was given ample opportunity not only by Mr. Rashed but also by the court, to rectify his defence. He failed to do so. At a hearing in the High Court of Justice on 12 October 2023, the Court refused permission for Mr. Deane to rely on the 4th version of his defence and entered judgment in favour of Mr. Rashed.
Outcome
Mr. Rashed is delighted with the outcome of these proceedings and that they have now been concluded in his favour, with an award of damages to rightly vindicate his reputation. This outcome is a testament to the commitment of all parties involved in pursuing justice and safeguarding Mr. Rashed’s reputation.
Mr. Rashed once again extends his heartfelt gratitude for the continuous support and encouragement from friends, family, and the wider community. He is pleased to conclude what has been an incessant campaign by Mr. Deane to tarnish his good reputation and cause him the utmost distress.
Mr. Rashed looks forward to commencing a positive chapter following this judgment and is excited to continue his work with both new and longstanding clients of Expertise Consultancy.
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