A WA schoolteacher has successfully sued his ex-wife after she lied about him in posts on Facebook. In a state first, the Bunbury woman was ordered to pay her estranged husband $12,500 after the District Court found she defamed him on the popular social media platform.
In his decision published in December, Judge Michael Bowden said social media defamation had the ability to spread far and wide with the “simple manipulation of computers”. The offending comments were posted on the mum-of-two’s profile page in December 2012. “Separated from (husband) after 18 years of suffering domestic violence and abuse. Now fighting the system to keep my children safe,” the post read.
The man’s brother saw the post, took a screenshots and emailed them to him. It was removed in early February 2013. During the civil trial last year, Judge Bowden was told by several witnesses that when they saw the post, it initially caused them to question the man’s character.
The woman denied writing the post and said it was doctored. She argued she did not know how to use Facebook properly and had it set up for her by another person. She also defended the post by arguing she had been victim of physical and verbal abuse throughout her marriage to the 54-year-old private school teacher. Read Full Info Here
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