Boss forced to pay $90,000 to employee after being sued for defamation over Facebook post
A luxury car upholsterer has been ordered to pay $90,000 plus costs after he failed to show up to defend himself for defaming a former employee turned competitor.
A district court awarded Michael Iskander $90,000 in damages after he sued the owner of Melbourne-based car upholstery company BNB Products, David Barcos, for defaming him in a Facebook post.
Barcos used his company’s Facebook page with 20,000 followers to upload a post titled ‘This is an official scam alert from BNB Products PTY LTD’.
He then falsely claimed that Iskander had cheated a customer out of his deposit and lied that he had previously worked full-time at BNB Products.
Judge Julie Clayton ruled in favor of Mr Iskander’s evidence opposing the position after Barcos failed to appear in court or lodge a defence.
Luxury car upholstery company owner David Barcos (pictured) has been ordered to pay $90,000 in damages after failing to appear in court while being sued for defamation
Judge Clayton ruled the post must have been seen by “at least a few hundred people” after it received 93 reactions, 53 comments and 64 shares in the days after it was uploaded.
Mr Iskander claimed that a screenshot of a bank transfer attached to the post as ‘proof’ that he was defrauding Trev was fraudulent as the beneficiary’s name was ‘M Isklander’ and not ‘M Iskander’.
He told the court that the post had damaged his standing in the furniture community because his company, Luxe Automotive Interiors, relies on Internet marketing to advertise to customers.
“I accept that some people within the bespoke furnishings community probably believed that Mr Barcos’ allegations were true and that this is likely to have had an impact on Mr Iskander’s personal and business reputation,” Judge Clayton said. The age.
Ms Clayton took into account the fraudulent and fabricated evidence in the $90,000 damages award, with a further $30,000 in legal costs for Mr Iskander’s lawyer, Matt Awad.
“If you tell lies about someone else, you could be liable for defamation,” Mr Awad said.
‘In this case, the financial consequences for the publisher are major.’
Michael Iskander (pictured), a former Barcos employee turned rival upholsterer, sued Barcos over a Facebook post that falsely claimed he had defrauded a customer and was a liar
In a post on Facebook on Sunday, Mr Iskander told his followers he had won the defamation case and thanked those who “stayed by my side… and didn’t believe the lies.”
“So for anyone who saw BNB’s post last December where David Barcos falsely claimed I was defrauding customers, stealing money and more. I recently won the lawsuit suing me for defamation of character,” Iskander wrote.
“I am in no way trying to attack David Barcos, but rather stating the facts to clear my name.
“I truly believe that if you remain a good person at heart and do good for others, good things will happen to you.
“But if you’re not a good person and you genuinely want to harm other people, these are the consequences.”