Ex-BHS teacher wins defamation suit against writer Ruel Johnson

Coen Jackson (left) and Ruel Johnson

Former Bishops’ High School teacher Coen Jackson has been awarded $5 million in damages after winning a defamation suit he brought against writer Ruel Johnson over statements made about him in Facebook posts.

High Court Judge Navindra Singh, who presided over the action brought by Jackson, found yesterday that the statements he complained of were in fact defamatory 

Jackson deposed in his claim that Johnson had made certain derogatory statements about him on Facebook that “have irrevocably damaged his reputation and has subjected him to public ridicule, contempt, hatred and embarrassment.”