Smoke but no guarantee of fire in Gold Leaf vs Abramjee
Abramjee is alleging that the publication of his statements is not unlawful because the allegations are true and in the public interest
On March 8, high court judge Lettie Malopa struck from the roll an urgent application in which Gold Leaf Tobacco sought to interdict and restrain activist Yusuf Abramjee from alleging that its Rudland & George cigarettes is an illegal brand; that it is evading taxes and, in turn, robbing the country; and from making any other defamatory remarks concerning Gold Leaf, pending the finalisation of an action instituted by Gold Leaf in which it claims damages of R50m from Abramjee. However, perhaps a far more effective legal strategy would have been to dissuade Gold Leaf from proceeding with an urgent application. Even though the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association is supporting the legal proceedings instituted by Gold Leaf, SA courts tend to approach attempts to restrain publication with caution. While there may be actionable defamation, it often proves counter-productive to proceed with litigation because such applications often whet the public’s appetite for the facts, giving th...
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