The appeals court threw out a magistrate’s assertion that Times of Malta journalist Ariadne Massa had colluded with health authorities when writing about a public hospital scam.
While retaining that the article, titled ‘Patients Swindled In Scam: Top MUMN Official Investigated’, was libellous because it wrongly implicated the four members of the nurses’ union executive, it said the reference to collusion was “gratuitous”.
In the first judgment, Magistrate Francesco Depasquale had ruled the court “could almost” conclude Ms Massa had colluded with the health ministry when writing the article.
He ascribed ill-fate to the journalist since at the time the story was published on August 22, 2010, the MUMN was locked in an industrial dispute with the government. But the appeals court rejected what it described as the magistrate’s “gratuitous” comments, which were the motivation for awarding the four MUMN officials €11,500 in damages.
The appeals court reduced the damages payable by Ms Massa and Times of Malta editor-in-chief Steve Mallia to €4,000 in total.
Times of Malta yesterday said it was considering all legal options in the wake of the appeals court decision.
The appeals court...
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