Harju District Court dismisses businessman's claim against journalist
Harju District Court has decided that businessman Parvel Pruunsild's claim against journalist Martin Laine and Delfi Meedia was intended to silence the media, and dismissed the claim.
Harju District Court dismisses businessman's claim against journalist
Harju District Court dismissed on Monday a court case filed by businessman Parvel Pruunsild, in which he demanded that journalist Martin Laine and Delfi Meedia AS cease the illegal processing of personal data. The court found that the purpose of the claim was to silence the media.
The dispute concerned an article in Estonica Ekspress that was based on documents made public during proceedings in Tartu court. These addressed communication between Pruunsild and Priit Humala, then deputy mayor of Tartu (Estonian Centre Party), which was connected to the sale of a former Estonian National Museum exhibition building to Sakala Student Society. Both men were acquitted in Tartu District Court and the prosecutor's office did not appeal the decision.
Pruunsild demanded that all sentences referring to him be removed from the article. According to his assessment, the text contained 44 such references, including correspondence with Estonian Centre Party politicians. The claimant sought damages exceeding 417,000 euros and approximately 28,600 euros in legal costs.
The court found that Delfi Meedia and Laine published the information lawfully. Of 11 alleged quotations, none contained Pruunsild's name at all. The court noted that even if the claims had been justified, the damages claim was unreasonably large — the claimant treated the publication of each sentence as a separate violation. "These circumstances indicate that the claimant's purpose is to silence the media, which the court cannot support," states the decision.
The court dismissed the claim and ordered legal costs to be borne by Pruunsild. The decision may be appealed to Tallinn Circuit Court within 30 days. Pruunsild told ERR that he intends to lodge an appeal.
Source: ERR
Source: ERR News