Heavy-handed debt collecting led to a defamation action and a High Court order to pay $350,000 aggravated damages.
The story begins with Malcolm Gibson’s employment as a quantity surveyor in 2013 by Claims Resolution Service Ltd, a company set up by Bryan Staples to help Canterbury homeowners resolve earthquake insurance claims. Mr Gibson misrepresented his qualifications. When Mr Staples found out, he refused to pay Mr Gibson’s invoices totalling some $170,000 saying the work done was of no commercial value. Mr Gibson responded by selling his alleged $170,000 debt to Ironclad Securities Ltd for the sum of one dollar. Ironclad’s recovery methods involved confronting Mr Staples and threatening to kill him if he did not pay within seven days. Justice Doogue described what followed as an extortion attempt with a publicity campaign alleging Mr Staples used his company to defraud, mislead and cheat people. A Facebook page controlled by Richard Freeman published posts stating Mr Staples was a conman, ripping off innocent people while acting as a bully and threatening the media. When sued for defamation, Mr Freeman sent documents repeating these allegations to member of parliament Winston Peters. Justice Doogue said this was a deliberate attempt to have Mr Peters repeat the allegations in parliament under protection of parliamentary privilege. Mr Peters repeated in parliament, almost word for word, the allegations made previously by Mr Freeman.
Statements made in parliament have absolute protection from defamation claims. But the simple act of a private citizen forwarding defamatory material to a third party is at law a ‘publication’ creating liability in defamation. Justice Doogue ruled Mr Freeman liable in defamation for ‘publishing’ the comments to Mr Peters. Mr Freeman was also liable in defamation for the Facebook posts.
Mr Freeman did not defend the court case. Ironclad Securities was removed from the companies register in 2016.
Staples v. Freeman – High Court (4.06.21)
21.096