Judge throws out injunction against ‘Melly Mel’

Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital on Wednesday lost their injunction filed against Melissa Atwell also known as ‘Melly Mel’ which sought to prevent her from posting/ sharing on Facebook the testimonies of alleged past patients and workers, who made damaging unsubstantiated allegations against the hospital and its medical practice.

Justice Fidela Corbin- Lincoln at the Demerara High Court disallowed the injunction on the grounds that it was too early to determine whether or not the statements posted by Atwell were true or untrue, expressly stating that her ruling was in no way meant to condone the posts or a reflection of the strength of the case.

The young businesswoman, who owns a clothing store in Georgetown, is currently on $200,000 station bail and was represented by Attorneys Sanjeev Datadin, Ganesh Hira, Donavon Rangiah and Anessa Chow.

Both sides on Wednesday made submissions which were held in chambers.

The hospital argued that Atwell’s posts, which gained much attention, resulted in tremendous financial losses to the hospital and painted a bad image of the private health institution.

Meanwhile, Atwell’s attorney claimed that her posts on Facebook were true testimonies and the public has a right to know.

While the Judge disallowed the injunction, the $10M lawsuit by the Hospital is still yet to be heard; a date is yet to be set for hearing.

The hospital sued for damages for libel in an amount to be determined at trial for no less than $5M, special damages to be proved at trial for no less than $100,000 and aggravated and exemplary damage for no less than $5M, also to be determined at trial.