14 DAY TRIAL // A former Orange High School student in Australia made history after being ordered to pay $105,000 (€76,460) in damages for denigrating a music teacher on social sites.
In November 2012, Andrew Farley, 20, posted a series of defamatory comments on Twitter and Facebook about music teacher Christine Mickle, 58, who took over his father's job as head of the music and arts department, after the senior teacher had left in 2008 for health reasons.
Farley graduated from high school in 2011 and had never been taught by Ms Mickle, who was a very popular teacher at Orange High School.
District Court judge Michael Elkaim ruled that the former schoolboy should pay compensatory and aggravated damages for making defamatory remarks about Christine Mickle.
This is the first case of this kind in Australia to proceed to a full trial. Judge Elkaim mentioned the mean comments had had a devastating effect on the popular teacher, as she immediately took sick leave and only returned to school late last year.
“For some reason it seems that the defendant bears a grudge against the plaintiff, apparently based on a belief that she had something to do with his father leaving the school,” said judge Michael Elkaim, cited by The Telegraph.
“When defamatory publications are made on social media it is common knowledge that they spread. Their evil lies in the grapevine effect that stems from the use of this type of communication,” he added.
Young Farley reportedly ignored a letter from Ms Mickle's lawyers in November 2012, and removed the nasty comments only after they wrote to him again in December. That's when he also apologized “unreservedly.”
However, judge Elkaim was not convinced of the sincerity of Mr Farley's apology, as he attempted to argue in his defense that the comments were true.
On the other hand, the judge described Ms Mickle as “a very honest woman who had been terribly hurt both by the comments in general, but perhaps more particularly by the suggestion that she may have been responsible for any harm, ill health or effect of any of her actions on the defendant's father.”
The former student was ordered to pay $85,000 (€61,900) in compensatory damages, and $20,000 (€14,560) in aggravated damages.
David Rolph, an associate professor at the University of Sydney Law School and media law expert, said, “This case just reinforces that even private individuals are subject to defamation law on social media and should be careful about what they say.”