Case: Protection of deputy of Fastiv city council
Region: Ukraine, Kyiv region, city of Fastiv
Parties: deputy of Fastiv city council and active citizen, LtD “Eko-vtor”
Essence of the case: compensation of damage to reputation of LtD “Eko–Vtor” caused by distribution of information via Facebook on negative state of environment caused by commercial activities of “Eko-Vtor”.
Essense of the problem: It’s a SLAPP litigation, namely strategic law suits against public participation. As a rule they are brought by big corporations to civil or commercial courts for compensation of damage against members of the public criticizing their actions. Defamation suits compose the bigger part of SLAPP suits. These are the suits against activists, journalists, NGOs and mass media claiming damage to reputation as a result of making of false information public.
Main facts:
LtD “Eko-Vtor” operating on the territory of Fastiv city does not inform its neighbors concerning their environmental compliance. Company was affecting environment few time and it was documented by appropriate acts, few complaints were addressed to law enforcement bodies concerning environmental crimes committed by them.
The attempts to solve the problems and bring the company “Eko-Vtor” into compliance with environmental legislation started in 2016. Rebelled against lack of actions by Eko-Vtor local activist and deputy of Fastiv city council posted different messages on their Facebook page. LtD “Eko-Vtor” decided that such messages affects their business reputation and filed a defamation suit to court.
The litigation is in progress. EPL provides legal aid to the defendant during litigation.