The Wardman Wire

Reported via a comment:

“The pre publication test case for libel the famous Groucho Club instigated against award winning filmmaker and writer Tyrone D Murphy is now at an end.

The Groucho club, after nearly a year, has issued a discontinuance notice just a week before a case management conference was to take place where an order time for standard disclosure would have been made.

The notice was issued shortly after a witness came forward. The statement was lodged with another Court in Wales in relation to a Data Protection Act case that Tyrone D Murphy issued against the Groucho Club.

The witness who was a manager for 5 years from the Groucho Club had just left his employment at the Club recently. His detailed statement not only refutes the Groucho Club statement of case, but is a detailed account of the events at the Groucho Club over a five year period.

The case now being at an end, no deal was done or will be done. The book “The Groucho Gate Affair” is going ahead.”

I contacted the Groucho Club for a comment, and I received a detailed statement of their position:

“Groucho Club”

“Is it correct that the Groucho Club has abandoned its Libel Action against Tyrone D Murphy?”

<pause>

“No comment”

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I also contacted Tyrone D Murphy, who confirms the accuracy of the above comment. Mr Murphy states that he has put in a claim for costs of just under fifty thousand pounds, and received a counter offer of six hundred pounds.

There may also be a slight issue where a solicitor may have given an assurance that the Groucho was in compliance with the Data Protection Act, when it … er … may not have been, and has left their position since. I’ll leave that for others to cover.