Cases

Angel v Stainton & Another

Facts

The 81 year old director of an aircraft and defence equipment company sued a rival company and its managing director for alleging that he had been convicted and imprisoned for illegal arms dealing. The accusation had been contained in a letter written by the defendants to Price Waterhouse Coopers, the receivers of the claimant’s former business, which both the claimant’s current company and the defendants were competing to purchase. The letter was also copied to four other organisations, all of whom were connected with the claimant’s ability to conduct his business. Although accepting that the specific allegation was false, the defendants refused to make an offer of amends until the issue of proceedings since they sought to exploit a prosecution which had apparently been brought many years earlier but subsequently abandoned. Although all other steps were agreed, the parties could not agree on the issue of compensation.

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