Ritz Developer defeated again

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Having made a bid to have sources used in articles by Miami-based financial newsletter, OffshoreAlert, revealed through the Cayman courts, the developer of the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman, Condoco Grand Cayman Resort Ltd, lost its civil action on 17 January. 

The reports in question covered allegedly confidential details of a $400 million deal and Mr Justice Henderson concluded that, since the publisher of OffshoreAlert, KYC News, Inc., was based in the United States and not in the Cayman Islands, the courts here had no jurisdiction over KYC News. 

Moreover, Judge Henderson said there was no evidence of damages to the developer of the Ritz Carlton based on information provided by its principal, Michael Ryan. The judgment outlined the legal arguments for bringing the libel suit including breach of confidentiality and conspiracy to interfere with the economic interests of the plaintiff. 

“What was missing was an argument that the details reported in OffshoreAlert articles were not true,” said David Marchant, OffshoreAlert’s publisher.“The fact that we have won this lawsuit and Mr Ryan has lost comes as no surprise whatsoever. It was a lawsuit that had zero chance of succeeding in that, as a professional journalist, nobody will get me to give up my sources of information.

“In the late 1990’s, I testified in a civil fraud trial at which the defendant’s attorney tried to convince the judge to put me in prison for contempt of court for refusing on the witness stand to reveal a source – that is how seriously I take this matter. 

“It is essentially silly for anyone to believe a Cayman Islands court can order a US-based company to provide the information that Mr Ryan was seeking. Only an idiot would have made such an application,” said Mr Marchant.

He added that Mr Ryan probably did not bring suit in Florida, because of the long-standing US tradition of protecting the freedom of the press and it was unlikely the case would have even received a hearing.

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