James Nicholls claims that he has been damaged by a letter the then EVRT Trustees (Liz Hogger, Chris Hogger, Gill Bowerman, Chris Isles and Susan Morris) sent to him claiming he was a danger to children. He is seeking an appology from EVRT.
The High Court Judge will provide a written response.
Read the full details in the Guildford Dragon article here
As one of the five defendants in this case, I am pleased that the judge’s decision received today has vindicated the action taken by the EVRT Trustees in May 2017. The judge’s order strikes out Mr Nicholls’ claim against the trustees (the defendants), and states that there were no reasonable grounds for the claim and it had no real prospect of success. Mr Nicholls has been ordered to pay our costs.
Mr Nicholls’ claim related to a private letter sent to him by the EVRT Board of Trustees in May 2017. I would like to make clear that the letter certainly did not make the allegation against him that Mr Nicholls claimed at the Hearing. It was not published by us, and could not be considered defamatory in any way.
The current EVRT Board supported us in defending this claim in order to protect the right of trustees to take action as they think fit in the best interests of the charity, having taken legal advice when appropriate. This is fully in line with Charity Commission guidance.
We, the defendants in this case, are all volunteers with a public service ethos, who gave up our time over many years to manage the King George V Hall and Fields for the benefit of Effingham residents. I hope the outcome in this case will give current and future trustees the confidence to know they can take responsible action when necessary without fear of litigation.