The Tribune

AN ALLEGED contributor to a local blog yesterday withdrew his application in the Supreme Court to have a Lyford Cay billionaire’s defamation claim against him dismissed.

A hearing was held in the chambers of Mr Justice Milton Evans when Earlin Williams’ lawyer, Keod Smith, withdrew his client’s application to have Hedge fund manager Louis Bacon’s action for defamation struck out.

Mr Bacon will now have to apply to the court for a date for a trial to proceed against the man he claimed wrote defamatory articles about him.

According to a Supreme Court writ dated July 11, 2012, Mr Bacon is seeking an injunction against Mr Williams for four articles posted on BahamasPress.com.

Chronologically, the first article, titled “Louis Bacon’s Conspiracy and Corruption at Lyford Cay”, was posted on May 4.

“The words complained of ([in the article) meant and were understood to mean that (Mr Bacon) is running a sophisticated international smuggling and drug trafficking ring with the co-operation and/or consent of the previous FNM government of The Bahamas,” the writ stated. It also claimed that “(Mr Bacon) is attempting to drive another resident of The Bahamas, Peter Nygard, from his home in order to stop Mr Nygard disturbing such activities carried out by (Mr Bacon); that (Mr Bacon) was involved in Dan Tuckfield being “killed” and cremated to cover up evidence of such activities of the illegal smuggling operation.”

The second article was posted on May 6, titled “Smuggling, How a Billionaire Plays Nintendo - Meet the Three Louis Bacons”.

The third article was posted on May 9, titled “Louis Bacon hedges a bad bet in The Bahamas as ruling FNM trounced in General Elections”. The article was also published by the Bahamas Journal on May 10, according to the writ.

The writ stated: “The words explained in article one meant and were understood to mean that ([Louis Bacon) is guilty of various forms of criminal conduct, including smuggling and harbouring of individuals who are under the suspicions of the Bahamian Immigration Authority; that the plaintiff has bribed Government officials to cover up this illegal activity.”

The fourth article was published on July 9, titled “Will Louis Bacon move operations to TI as dragnet closes on him in The Bahamas?”

In June 2012, Mr Bacon brought defamation proceedings against Jones Communications Limited for the articles published in the Bahama Journal.

During the proceedings, Wendell Jones on behalf of his newspaper, confirmed in a statement in open court that Earlin Williams was the author of the articles: ‘Louis Bacon’s Conspiracy and Corruption at Lyford Cay’; ‘Louis Bacon Hedges a Bad Bet as FNM Trounced in Elections’ and ‘Louis Bacon Continues to Outrun Law.’

Mr Williams had applied to have Mr Bacon’s claim struck out. He brought a counter-claim against Mr Bacon, claiming that the litigation has harmed his reputation and affected his income.

His defence against the litigation was that he is not E Williams, the name under which the articles appeared. Mr Bacon applied to have the counter-claim struck out on the basis that Williams’ claim had no merit.

Yesterday afternoon’s chamber hearing in which Mr Smith withdrew his counter-claim, was brief.

Mr Bacon is represented by Robert Adams, a partner in Graham Thompson and Co.