Two ex-employees of controversial managing agent Richard Davidoff who posted critical Google reviews with fake names of the services of ABC Estates have failed to block efforts to sue them for defamation.
LKP is informed that they may already be looking at costs against them of £36,000, with more to come if the libel action comes to court and they are again unsuccessful (see costs order application below).
Dhir Doshi and Thomas Govan, formerly in paid employment with ABC Estates, had applied to the high court for the libel case to be thrown out.
But deputy master of the rolls Basil Yoxall has ruled that it can go ahead.
ABC Estates and the Davidoff family – Richard, Hanni, Tamara and Debby – claim that the critical reviews’ meaning is that they “are fraudsters and dishonest because they run a fraudulent and dishonest enterprise (or enterprises) which inflate prices artificially, charge for services not rendered and pursuant to falsified invoices and publish or cause to be published fake reviews of their services in order to deceive prospective clients into obtaining their services, and in so doing have committed criminal offences”.
The Davidoffs claim that the two ex-employees were acting in concert, although this is denied.
The two were unmasked after a “Norwich Pharmacal application” revealed the IP addresses used for the reviews: this process has been deployed frequently to identify anonymous postings online.
Mr Govan denied, through solicitors, that he was the author of the reviews: “Mr Govan now accepts that the denial was a lie,” the judge noted.
The judge also dismissed arguments that the allegations were out of time as more than a year had passed since initial publication; and that there was no evidence that they were in fact damaging.
“No doubt the question of serious harm will be controversial at the trial,” said the judge.
He added: “The case concerns serious allegations of dishonesty made against people in business.”
At the hearing the Davidoffs’ barrister laid emphasis on the family being, in the judge’s words, “active members of the Jewish community in and around the Edgeware and Hendon areas of North London”.
Both Mr Doshi and Mr Govan used Jewish names for some of their critical reviews. But it was not asserted that there had been an anti-semitic intent behind doing so.
Although the decision of the Association of Residential Managing Agents in November 2021 to expel ABC Estates from membership was raised at the hearing, it is not referenced in the judge’s ruling.
ARMA took its decision following a property tribunal ruling in August 2021 that Richard Davidoff had “breached his fiduciary duties” as a section 24 court-appointed manager at a site in South London.
The tribunal said that a major works scheme had ballooned from £10,000 to £100,000 and Mr Davidoff was not a “satisfactory witness”, was arrogant and dismissive of the leaseholders and had proposed to entrust the major works to a company whose sole director was the wife of the head of block management at ABC Estates.
Sir Peter Bottomley has also raised concerns about Mr Davidoff’s business practices in an Early Day Motion and has urged government ministers “to listen to the former employees of Mr Davidoff raising whistleblowing details of his business practices”.
Sir Peter has also tabled a number of Parliamentary Questions concerning section 24 appointments.
Leaseholders contacted LKP to express dismay at the latest decision. While the use of made-up names and critical reviews by Mr Doshi and Mr Govan was not condoned, the leaseholders say that the two had alerted them to concerns with ABC Estates and did not have a mercenary agenda.
The full ruling of deputy master Yaxall is here
The costs order application is here
Related posts:
Richard Davidoff of ABC Estates expelled from IRPM
Sir Peter Bottomley calls on ministers to listen to ‘whistleblower’ ex-employees of Richard Davidoff (of ABC Estates)
Richard Davidoff, of ABC Estates, ‘breached his fiduciary duties’ after disastrous performance as a court-appointed manager, rules property tribunal
Well, can Sir Keith Lindblom do anything about Richard Davidoff’s continuing role as an officer of the property tribunal?
Property tribunal chamber president Siobhan McGrath says Richard Davidoff has two other section 24 court appointments – ‘as far as I can ascertain’ – and proposes a new practice code to encourage section 24 appointees to behave
Vicky Pollard property tribunal: yes, but … no, but … Yes, you have been ripped off over insurance. But no, we can’t do anything about it
Judges are generally reluctant to grant strike out applications anyway as this is thought to be the most ‘draconian’ thing that can happen to a claim.
Nothing turns on the fact that 2x former ABC employees were not granted strike out. This does not mean that the 2x former ABC employees are bound to lose a libel case at trial. It only means that the matter is being permitted to proceed to a trial where (no doubt) more evidence will be produced and tested.
All the more reason to urge your local MP to sign EDM 672, tabled by Sir Peter Bottomley on 19-11-2021. You can find an email address for your local MP using this link:
https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
Have just wrote to my local mp to sign the EDM by Sir Peter Bottomley. I would urge people to contact action fraud if they are effected in any way as presented in this article by managing agents
If the only thing ailing Richard Davidoff and ABC Estates is the negative Google reviews of 2 former employees, why has the Institute of Residential Property Management just expelled Richard Davidoff and launched an investigation into Mark Reed?
The IRPM wrote as follows:
Dear XXXX
I am writing to inform you of the outcome of the IRPM’s investigation into the professional conduct of Mr. Richard Davidoff.
The IRPM’s Compliance Sub-Committee has now concluded its investigation. It has determined that Mr. Davidoff should be expelled from the IRPM forthwith. That expulsion took effect on 17 December 2021.
An email containing the Sub-Committee’s decision, including his expulsion, was sent to Mr. Davidoff on 17 December 2021.
Yours sincerely
On behalf of the IRPM.
The latest development is that the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) has expelled Richard Davidoff and is actively investigating Mark Reed (Head of Block Management at Richard Davidoff’s company).
The IRPM email confirming Richard Davidoff’s expulsion reads as follows:
Dear XXXX
I am writing to inform you of the outcome of the IRPM’s investigation into the professional conduct of Mr. Richard Davidoff.
The IRPM’s Compliance Sub-Committee has now concluded its investigation. It has determined that Mr. Davidoff should be expelled from the IRPM forthwith. That expulsion took effect on 17 December 2021.
An email containing the Sub-Committee’s decision, including his expulsion, was sent to Mr. Davidoff on 17 December 2021.
Yours sincerely
On behalf of the IRPM.
I for one shall be following this case with great interest. I was sued by a management agency first for “ defamation’… They decided to withdraw that claim as everything I said was backed by evidence. They then tried to sue me for “ Harassment “ if I didn’t sign what amounted to gagging order. I refused and spent two days in the witness box at the RCJ.
The agency lost on all counts and I recall the judge saying that I was an impeccable defendant! The agency had to pay my legal fees. I understand that not everyone has the cojones to stand up to intimidation particularly when facing tens of thousands of legal fees.
I would have rather died in a ditch then be cowed by anyone, least of all a residential management agency. Jus sayin!
?? In most cases it is not possible to identify someone from an IP address due to them being dynamically allocated and shared amongst househods.