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Cases / Agriculture, livestock and food · France · 2019

Socfin and Socapalm lose French defamation suit against media and NGOs

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

Socfin and Socapalm, Bolloré-linked palm oil and rubber companies, lost a French defamation suit against Mediapart, L'Obs, Le Point, Sherpa and ReAct. The case concerns the right of journalists and NGOs to report on palm oil plantations.

What?
Socfin and Socapalm sued Mediapart, L'Obs, Le Point, Sherpa and ReAct for defamation; the claimants lost at first instance and withdrew their appeal. Reporterre
Where?
France. Reporterre
When?
Trial opened 25 January 2019; the exact verdict date is not confirmed. Reporterre
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Socfin and Socapalm — Lost the defamation suit at first instance and withdrew the appeal. Reporterre
Harmed
  • Mediapart, L'Obs, Le Point, Sherpa and ReAct — Named as defendants in the defamation suit. Reporterre
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Defamation litigation in French courts against media outlets and NGOs. Reporterre
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Reporterre reported that the trial in the defamation suit opened on 25 January 2019, and that the prosecutor sought acquittal on grounds of good faith.

Reporterre reported that the claimants lost at first instance and withdrew their appeal.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre said Bolloré and Socfin had filed at least 20 suits over palm oil reporting since 2009, and that Socfin lost its French case.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. Defendant won
      Defamation suit against Mediapart, L'Obs, Le Point, Sherpa and ReAct
      French court (not named in the sources reviewed) · Civil · Socfin and Socapalm → Mediapart, L'Obs, Le Point, Sherpa and ReAct

      Trial opened 25 January 2019. The prosecutor sought acquittal on grounds of good faith. The claimants lost at first instance and withdrew their appeal, Reporterre reported. Reporterre

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The exact date of the first-instance verdict is not confirmed in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not name the court or chamber that heard the case.
    • None on record The costs awarded or paid in the suit are not stated in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The outcome of other Socfin or Socapalm suits beyond the French case is not described in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Communities and civil society

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    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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