THE HIGH COURT has ruled that a defamation action taken by Galway-based businessman Declan Ganley and his Rivada telecommunications firm should continue to be heard in Ireland.

Ganley and US-based Rivada Networks Ltd are suing international news broadcaster CNN for defamation. Cable News International Ltd and Turner Broadcasting System Europe Ltd are also named defendants in the case.

It is alleged that in a broadcast on 20 October 2020, CNN suggested that the White House had pressured the Pentagon to award a no-bid, multi-million contract to Rivada Networks to build a 5G telecommunications network for the US Department of Defence.

Ganley and the company say they are “completely innocent” of such a claim, and say the contents of the publication are “entirely unfounded”, are “grossly defamatory” of them, and have caused them reputational damage and loss.

In a ruling published today, Mr Justice Garrett Simons said the Irish High Court remained an appropriate forum to hear the case.

Outlining his reasoning, he said that it was now too late for Ganley to institute proceedings before the courts of the mooted foreign forum, Washington, District of Columbia.

This was not just because the one-year time limit had expired, but also due to CNN not being “prepared to waive the limitation period”, the judge said.

“It would be unjust to stay the proceedings before the Irish Courts as it would result in plaintiffs, who are unblameworthy, being
denied access to the courts in either jurisdiction,” he said.

Mr Justice Simons added that if he granted a stay on the proceedings, then it would have the “practical effect of depriving an Irish citizen, who is habitually resident here, of the right to pursue” an action for defamation.

He also took into account whether the plaintiff, Ganley, had acted reasonably in failing to issue a protective writ in the foreign forum within the prescribed time. This approach is adopted by the UK courts.

But the judge found that Ganley’s side had acted reasonably by only issuing the writ in Ireland and he was not seeking “an omnibus claim for worldwide damages” in the action.

Meanwhile, the failure of CNN to flag at an earlier stage its intention to seek to stay the proceedings and push for an alternative forum while the option remained available was another factor in the court’s decision.

The judge also said that he was refusing a separate motion by CNN to strike out the proceedings against the two UK-registered CNN entities, Turner Broadcasting System Europe Ltd and Cable News International Ltd.

US Department of Defence contract

In the background to the case, the company made a proposal after the US Department of Defence made a competitive and open request for information relating to the project.

It is alleged that the publication wrongly meant that Ganley and Rivada had initiated a corrupt process to obtain the contract.

They also claim that the publication was published with malicious intent, in pursuit of a political and commercial agenda of CNN’s owners AT&T.

Last year, CNN asked the High Court to put a stay on the Irish proceedings and determine that the US is the appropriate forum for hearing the case.

Ganley and Rivada opposed the application and said the case should remain in Ireland, stating that any claim in the US would be statute-barred because the limitation period for taking an action is one year after the publication of the alleged defamatory statement.

As part of today’s ruling, Mr Justice Simons listed the case for final orders for 25 February.