By Azara Lavia
The High Court has dismissed a case brought by D Gisele Isaac, the former Executive Secretary of the Board of Education, against Attorney General and former Minister of Education Michael Browne.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Jan Drysdale, concluded that there was insufficient evidence linking the government to the alleged defamatory remarks made by the late Tanny Rose.
The dispute traces back to July 2014, when Isaac was suspended for 28 days for purportedly failing to adhere to Browne’s directives. She was constructively dismissed in August 2014. A month later, Rose – a radio broadcaster at the time – reportedly aired excerpts on ZDK Radio of an investigatory report into Isaac’s conduct in office.
Isaac argued that this broadcast resulted in significant reputational damage, prompting her to file a lawsuit for various declarations and damages.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Justice Drysdale stated that Isaac’s claims against the government were moot, since her attorney, Justin Simon KC failed to prove that the defendants leaked the report to Rose. According to Justice Drysdale, his client’s arguments centred on allegations of Rose’s close alliance with the ruling labour party, which she considered circumstantial evidence.
The judge also stated that because Issac was constructively dismissed weeks before the publication, Rose had “no clear reason to leak the report”, and so she was not entitled to natural justice, dismissing Isaac’s argument that she did not have an opportunity to be heard or interviewed before the report was published.
The Attorney General’s lawyer, Dr David Dorsett, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating: “It was really an overstretch to think that the government would be responsible for diminishing the reputation of Ms D Gisela Isaac, when the thing that [she] complained about was something that happened on ZDK radio involving Tanny Rose.
“Tanny Rose is not the government and the government is not Tany Rose. So that really is the end of the case. There really isn’t much more I think I can add. In 2022, the court had already ruled that most of the case was academic and was not worthy of the court’s attention and so, her claim against government that she did not get natural justice and things of that nature were basically dismissed”.
In response, Isaac criticised the ruling, addressing that the absence of affidavits from Browne and other parties involved: “Tanny is dead, Michael Browne has fled, and neither he nor [Steadroy] Cutie Benjamin ever submitted an affidavit in response to my claim,” preferring to “hide behind” Denise Gardiner, who they deposed as their “agent”, she stated. She further elaborated, “I will continue to live and thrive”.
Isaac’s lawyer, Justin Simon KC, has indicated plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.