Question 1
Whether Kit and Chris have any claims of defamation against Ahmed
According to this case study, Ahmed and Kit got married when they started a successful jewellery business together at least 7 years ago. The jewellery business has run effectively as an incredibly lucrative market with more productive and profitable. As per this study, the marriage relationship between Ahmed and Kit has been broken due to the causes of external affairs of Kit with Chris, he met on a business trip and they have to build a close relationship. Now, Ahmad wants a divorce from Kit and wants to dissolve their joint jewellery business. Therefore, Kit and Chris want to launch another jewellery business together that is "Sparkly Things".
It has been seen that Ahmed has been posting a message on the personal social media platform about Kit and Chris and consider that both are wicked adulterers with whom nobody can do any kind of business. This kind of offensive message on social media has influenced the good reputation of Kit and Chris in the market and its impact on many customers or clients who have cancelled their many orders. In order to the cancellation of many orders and the creation of a bad image in the market has affected their jewellery business "Sparkly Things" in the market. Kit and Chris have not taken action against Ahmed.
It has been observed that in this situation Kit and Chris must take an action according to the defamation law or due to hampering their reputation on social media. In the United Kingdom, defamation law allows the living individual to bring a claim regarding harm driven to their good reputation. It has been noticed that reputation is the most important and valuable thing for an individual and it is their right to protect it. In order to the revolution of digital media and social platforms rapidly rise, there are c different ways than ever that an individual's reputation can be suffered harm or damaged.
Any potential defences that may be available to Ahmed
There are many defenses has been available for Ahmed that is associated with innocence, self-defense, constitutional violations, and insanity. It has been observed that divorce law has changed "On 6 April 2022" across the UK. The introduction and explanation of no-fault divorce that means no longer essential to provide any kind of reason including adultery during applying for the divorce. Adultery is committed during a married person has a close relationship with someone another person, other than their wife and husband. According to the old divorce law in the UK, adultery, separation, unreasonable behaviour and alongside desertion, are all the reason and cause for divorce, but now only one ground for divorce that is marriage has been irretrievably broken down.
The no-fault divorce has been introduced and Ahmed can assert that this is one of the cases associated with the "statement of irretrievable breakdown" regarding the application of divorce without the need to explain the reason behind this. According to the case study, Ahem has been suffering from the greater devastation of the loss of this partner and it has influenced their business in the market. Now Ahmed has been suffering from a poor mental condition due to the loss of their partners and they are joining the jewellery business. It has led to the causes of divorce among them due to the causes of external affairs of their partner with someone else.
It has been observed that legal separation is one kind of legal remedy for partners or couples faced with problematic marriages. Along with that, it has been noticed that, in a legal separation, the couple has been allowed to separately own assets and live apart. Legal separation has dissolved the property relationship of the suspected spouses and eradicated the capacity of the guilty party to inherit the innocent party. It has been noticed that legal separation has influenced both properties as well as persons, while property separation has been affected by property relations only.
Advise Kit and Chris of any remedies that they may have
According to this study, Kit and Chris have been suffering from a huge loss in this business due to the causes of negative advertising on social media and high competitors. It has been noticed that Ahmed has been starting up a business with jewellery that is "Luxury Trinkets" that has been creating huge pressure on the company "Sparkly Things". Along with that, Ahmed has created a negative and devastating image for Sparkly Things Company in the market through negative advertising on social media. This is the major result for cancel many lucrative orders and the loss of many customers that affected the company's reputation and image in the market. Advertising to businesses has been covered through the "Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations" in the UK that has protected people from any kind of negative advertisement related to the business. Kit and Chris have been needing to use the “Malicious Communication Act 1988 and "the Communications Act 2003" for protection from social media negative advertisements.
Question 2
Introduction - Jewellery Business Dispute: Defamation & Legal Remedies
As per the case study provided, the primary concern of this assignment deals with the defamation filed by the party who is leading the business of "Sparkly Things" which is a jewellery business against Ahmed who has been left by Kit due to an extramarital affair. If not, then what actions Kit and Chris can take against Ahmed also stated here. Based on the case provided it is mandatory to advise whether the person filing the case has any potential defence available. After the discussion, the remedies are also provided for the victim partners that can be chosen by them for their benefit and to cope with the loss they met with. Leading life with someone cannot be decided by any person; based on that, no one can take any revenge as everyone has his or her personal choice.
1. Defamation against Ahmed
According to the case study, Ahmed after the divorce, in frustration posted messages on the social media handle mentioning that Kit and Chris are the persons who are frauds. There is no need to deal with these fraudulent as the goods they provide are mined from "environmental suspect sources". Besides all this, Ahmed also launched a new business named "Luxury Trinkets" which was again a jewellery business with direct competition with "Sparkle Things". Kit and Chris have not done anything against actions of Ahmed but they are required to do the following things:
- File a case of defamation against Ahmed by raising an FIR in the police station first, from there the complaint is forwarded to the due magistrate. After this, with the permission of the magistrate, the case is investigated. During the investigation, the team will look after the statements stated by the victim, which must be defamatory and directed towards the person who is injuring the reputation and exposing hatred against Kit and Chris. The second thing to be considered in the investigation is that the statement provided by Ahmed must be false and lastly, it should be available with any third party or in the public domain as proof. After the investigation of all the proof, the police will file the final report with the magistrate which can be in the form of a closure report or charge sheet, based on which the court will issue a warrant to the accused. Then the further process will be done in the court by cross-questioning the accused by the defence lawyer and if not found the accused guilty, then the accused will be discharged. This is stated in articles 19(1) (a) and 19 (2).
- Claim 50% market share for the jewellery business which is used to run by Ahmed and Kit as the business was started by Kit and Ahmed both sharing equal partnership. As per the section46, on the dissolution of every firm, all the partners are entitled against all the partners. Here the surplus is distributed among the partners according to their rights.
2. Potential defence for Ahmed
Here Ahmed can take advantage of the privileged policy, which is used by the law to recognize justified statements by other members included in the case, but the statement must be true. If the accused is found guilty after the privilege session then he or she can be punishable under the defamatory lawsuit. However, Ahmed can choose the path of truth also to reduce the punishment, which might be given based on the case filed.
3. Remedies for the loss incurred by Kit and Chris
They can perform the following steps to overcome their loss:
- Do nothing - After being trapped in a defamation case, it is better to do nothing in the early stage as taking your stand will throw fuel on the fire and will make the situation more complex.
- Collect evidence - Collecting evidence against defamation is a better option, which can be stated as proof while applying for a defamatory lawsuit.
- Get a lawyer - The best possible way to deal with a defamatory case is to consult with a lawyer first. Show all the proofs to them and as per their concern work accordingly.
- Send a cease and desist letter - At the early stage sending a ceased or desist letter is a useful tool suggested by a layer as a strongly worded letter intimidating a law firm is enough to get a defamatory article retracted or social media post deleted.
- Publish your own statement - Creating a personal statement will be beneficial as it will be a calm response delivered through an appropriate channel.
Question 3
Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle
- Description: This case study is been describe the impact of the separation of a couple's relationship and its impact on the joint jewellery business in the market due to the causes of the external affairs of a person. Besides that, I have learnt that legal separation has affected both person's reputation and their property.
- Feelings: I felt that Ahemd has been suffering different challenges and barriers due to the loss of their joint jewellery business and Kit developed a relationship with Chris. It has been noticed that the relationship development with another person and adultery has affected the cases of divorce according to the legal terms.
- Evaluation: I evaluate that this study has been exploring the different challenges and Ahmed due to the loss of their partners and broken joint business has faced barriers.
- Analysis: I analyse adultery as the major reason for divorce and affects their financial statement.
- Conclusion: I conclude negative advertisement on social media sites has been creating defamatory issues for both parties.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is been clear that everyone has legal rights in their life, they must know their rights, and accordingly, they are free to take necessary action. In the case of Kit and Chris, both can file a case against Ahmed but have not done so. A basic idea for filing the defamation lawsuit against Ahmed has been described above which could be beneficial for Kit and Chris. These are the matters, which cannot be neglected and are causing serious issues leading to the dissolution of a particular firm. Being aware of such situations is an asset for the victim party to measure their loss and take necessary actions to mitigate those. This is a matter need to be understood by Kit and Chris to survive the situation.
Action Plan
Both parties must focus on the use of the “Malicious Communication Act 1988 and "the Communications Act 2003". This act helps to reduce the negative social media advertisement regarding Kit and Chris.
Feedback
From the above reflective assessment, it can be concluded that one always gets separated from personal and professional life as it will ruin the market position of a well-established business firm. The ability to face challenges must be there because taking any step in hurry affects the lifecycle of a person. Considering the outcomes with a lawyer will be beneficial in every aspect. With his suggestion, necessary steps should be taken keeping in mind the laws that can be framed against the action taken in hurry. This will help in getting rid of the loss that has been incurred.
References
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7 Years | LLM
