Al Saud & Anor v Forbes LLC & Ors [2014] EWHC 3823 (QB) (26 November 2014)

Al Saud & Anor v Forbes LLC & Ors [2014] EWHC 3823 (QB) (26 November 2014)

The words complained of in the first and fourth articles mean there are strong grounds to suspect the First Claimant intentionally misled Forbes and readers by dishonest means to inflate his net worth; the second article means there are reasonable grounds to suspect the First Claimant terminated Ernst & Young as auditors to avoid scrutiny; the third article means the First Claimant defaulted on payments to Airbus for capricious reasons, proving himself an unreliable and untrustworthy debtor. These meanings are defamatory of the First Claimant. The meanings attributed to the Second Claimant do not meet the threshold of seriousness for corporate defamation.

Citation
[2014] EWHC 3823 (QB)
Parties
First Claimant: HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; Second Claimant: Kingdom Holding Company; First Defendant: Forbes LLC; Second Defendant: Forbes Media LLC; Third Defendant: Kerry Dolan; Fourth Defendant: Francine McKenna
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
26 November 2014
Procedural Posture
Libel Action / Trial of Preliminary Issue on Meaning of Words Complained of
Outcome
Meanings found as set out in the judgment; defamatory of First Claimant only; not defamatory of Second Claimant.
Legal Topics
Libel, Meaning of Defamatory Words, Threshold of Seriousness, Corporate Defamation, Chase Levels, Lucas Box Meanings
Defamation Media Law Libel Meaning of Defamatory Words Threshold of Seriousness Corporate Defamation Chase Levels Lucas Box Meanings

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Parties

HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

First Claimant

Kingdom Holding Company

Second Claimant

Forbes LLC

First Defendant

Forbes Media LLC

Second Defendant

Kerry Dolan

Third Defendant

Francine McKenna

Fourth Defendant

Procedural Posture

Libel Action / Trial of Preliminary Issue on Meaning of Words Complained of

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What is the natural and ordinary meaning of the words complained of in the four articles?
  2. 2 Do the words bear a defamatory meaning of the First Claimant and/or the Second Claimant?
  3. 3 What is the level of certainty attributed to the allegations (Chase levels)?

Ratio Decidendi

The words complained of in the first and fourth articles mean there are strong grounds to suspect the First Claimant intentionally misled Forbes and readers by dishonest means to inflate his net worth; the second article means there are reasonable grounds to suspect the First Claimant terminated Ernst & Young as auditors to avoid scrutiny; the third article means the First Claimant defaulted on payments to Airbus for capricious reasons, proving himself an unreliable and untrustworthy debtor. These meanings are defamatory of the First Claimant. The meanings attributed to the Second Claimant do not meet the threshold of seriousness for corporate defamation.

Court Disposition

Meanings found as set out in the judgment; defamatory of First Claimant only; not defamatory of Second Claimant.

Orders

  • The meanings of the words complained of in the first and fourth articles are as set out in paragraph 37 of the judgment.
  • The meaning of the words complained of in the second article is as set out in paragraph 43 of the judgment.