July 17, 2017

Dennis Rice, the claimant, contacted IMPRESS to make a request for arbitration to settle a legal claim of defamation, harassment and malicious falsehood, arising from two tweets sent out from the Byline Media Twitter account on 6 March 2017.

On 7 April, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators appointed Clive Thorne as independent arbitrator for the case. An order for directions was made shortly afterwards on 10 April, which required the claim and publisher response to be submitted by 8 May. A directions hearing was held on 16 May, after which the parties were directed to provide further information and clarification. An award was finalised on 6 July and published on 13 July.

In the award, Mr Thorne upheld the claim in part. He found one of the two tweets to be defamatory and ordered that damages of £2,500 be awarded to Mr Rice. The claims for harassment and malicious falsehood were withdrawn by consent following the directions hearing held on 16 May 2017. Neither party was legally represented and no award for costs was made. For a link to the full award, click here.