A law firm has won an injunction, and £90,000 in costs, against one of its ex-clients and the owner of the solicitorsfromhell website for harassing the firm's lawyers.

Daniel Beach originally instructed the firm, which under reporting restrictions cannot be named, on a planning matter. However when he became unhappy with them, he named the firm and individual lawyers in complaints he posted on solicitorsfromhell, a website run by RollOnFriday favourite Rich Kordowski. Beach also set up five websites with domain names which were variations on the name of the firm and six more which could be mistaken for the local council's website, where he repeated his allegations.

   
The solicitorsfromhell website yesterday, hoping against hope that the behorned flaming skull man from hell is somehow resting in peace


The firm's chairman applied to the High Court for an injunction, on the basis that the offensive posts were causing him and his lawyers distress and alarm and constituted harassment. He also argued that the fake websites could conceivably deter people from instructing his firm or applying for jobs there. The High Court agreed, ruling that the defendants' actions amounted to "torment". Beach and Kordowski, who had no representation and failed to show up in court, were ordered to remove all their ravings, close down the dummy sites, basically wear ball gags and pay £90,000 costs.

Kordowski may struggle to pay his share. He has already been forced to shut down solicitorsfromhell, ordered to pay £45,000 after losing another defamation claim, lost his own claim for defamation against ex-Law Society chief executive Des Hudson and been declared bankrupt.

Kordowski failed to respond to a request for comment.
 
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Comments

Anonymous 03 October 14 10:31

About time. I used to work in the planning department at the firm involved (long after the relevant matter was concluded) and can say that the firm very well regarded and did not deserve to be defamed by this guy.

Anonymous 06 October 14 11:29

Every firm has them - check out Pritchard Englefield v Steinberg - the decade-long saga of a defamation case by a former client against a blameless law firm.