It’s Bitter In The Bahamas

The dismissal of certain allegedly defamatory statements in a dispute between wealthy Bahamian neighbors has been affirmed by the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department

Here, the motion court properly determined that the disputed statements were not “reasonably susceptible of a defamatory connotation” to sufficiently state a cause of action (Davis, 24 NY3d at 268 [citations omitted]). Unlike the other allegedly defamatory statements that survived the motion to dismiss, the disputed statements at most assert pure opinions that plaintiff is racist by making nonspecific vague references to the KKK and juxtaposing his picture with violent iconographic images associated with the KKK. The context of these statements was such that a reasonable reader would have concluded that these statements were rhetorical epithets, not asserted facts. Contrary to plaintiff’s contention, the disputed statements did not constitute “mixed opinions” because they did not indicate that the opinions were based on any undisclosed facts (see Davis, 24 NY3d at 269). As for the cited article excerpts, which plaintiff maintains are defamatory together with the title of and images in the internet article, the motion court properly dismissed them as the author disclosed the basis for his opinion that plaintiff is racist, and plaintiff did not dispute the underlying facts or quotes attributed to him in the article (see Gross, 82 NY2d at 153-154).

The New York Times published a February 2020 detailed recounting of the origins and scope of the dispute

 The Bahamian pleasure palace featured a faux Mayan temple, sculptures of smoke-breathing snakes and a disco with a stripper pole. The owner, Peter Nygard, a Canadian fashion executive, showed off his estate on TV shows like “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” and threw loud beachfront parties, reveling in the company of teenage girls and young women.

Next door, Louis Bacon, an American hedge fund billionaire, presided over an airy retreat with a lawn for croquet. Mr. Bacon preferred hunting alone with a bow and arrow to attending wild parties, and if mentioned at all in the press, was typically described as buttoned-up.

The neighbors had little in common except for extreme wealth and a driveway. But when Mr. Nygard wasn’t allowed to rebuild after a fire, he blamed Mr. Bacon. Since then, the two have been embroiled in an epic battle, spending tens of millions of dollars and filing at least 25 lawsuits in five jurisdictions. Mr. Nygard, 78, has spread stories accusing Mr. Bacon of being an insider trader, murderer and member of the Ku Klux Klan. Mr. Bacon, 63, has accused Mr. Nygard of plotting to kill him.

The Times reported yesterday on criminal charges brought against the defendant in this action.

Federal authorities previously investigated Mr. Nygard on allegations of sex trafficking between 2015 and 2017 without filing any charges. The F.B.I. conducted two brief inquiries, while the Department of Homeland Security investigated him for nine months.

(Mike Frisch)