By SANCHESKA BROWN
Trbune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
A NEW York judge threw out 105 of the 135 allegedly defamatory statements billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Bacon claimed Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard levelled against him during an “harassment campaign” in the Bahamas.
Last week Justice Cynthia Kern in a US Supreme Court ruled that Mr Bacon was too late in filing the majority of his claims of defamation against Mr Nygard.
The ruling was made public on Friday.
Mr Bacon is suing Mr Nygard for $100 million for defamation. He has alleged that the fashion designer organised rallies, marches and protests where he was defamed, created and distributed defamatory T-shirts and signs, published defamatory accusations about him and used websites to defame him.
Mr Nygard filed a $50 million countersuit in April accusing Mr Bacon of a “vendetta” against him, including harassment and frivolous litigation.
Each man has denied the other’s allegations.
In a decision dated July 28, Judge Kern said many of the purportedly defamatory statements were made more than one year before the lawsuit was filed, thus exceeding the state’s statute of limitations.
“The argument by Bacon that he could not bring the present action against defendants until at least 2014 because he only had suspicions and did not have any hard proof is without basis,” the judgment said.
“Based on the foregoing, 105 of the 135 defamatory statements are dismissed as time barred and the claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and prima facie tort are dismissed either on the ground that they are
duplicative of the defamation claim or are time barred.”
Mr Bacon can continue to pursue the remaining 30 claims against Mr Nygard.
Both men own adjacent properties in the exclusive gated community of Lyford Cay and have been feuding for years.
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