A High Court judge levelled harsh criticism towards two doctors who engaged in a war of words over each other's qualifications and professional conduct. Justice Frank Seepersad did so in the Port-of- Spain High Court as he ordered the former president of the Medical Council of T&T, Dr Steve Smith, to pay Professor Courtenay Bartholomew and his daughter, Maria, who is also a doctor, $200,000 in compensation for defamation which arose out of a series of exchanges in 2006.
Seepersad described the conflict between the two parties as unfortunate and unacceptable. "No one, no matter how qualified or distinguished ever attains the right to adopt a stance of moral superiority over members of his chosen profession," Seepersad said.
While he criticised both parties actions, he said Smith's statements "exceed the parameters of an acceptable response." He also ruled the Bartholomews were not entitled to a large amount of damages as the family failed to prove Smith's comments had a negative effect on their respective practices.
"There is also no evidence before this court that the claimants' social interaction was adversely affected nor is there any evidence that the claimants' distress and hurt affected their ability to discharge their professional obligations or that ?there was an impact upon their ability to engage socially or undertake public appearance," Seepersad said in his tenpage decision.
The Bartholomews filed the lawsuit in 2010 as they alleged Smith's statements, contained in two letters sent under the council's letterhead between June and July 2006, attacked their professional reputations and integrity. The discourse between the two began when Smith allegedly criticised Maria's academic qualifications, prompting the elder Bartholomew to respond.
Smith responded in two letters in which he alleged Bartholomew was suffering from a mental disorder. Bartholomew, who is credited for diagnosing the first case of AIDS in the Englishspeaking Caribbean, obtained a default judgment after Smith's lawyers failed to meet the court's deadline for filing his defence in the case. The Bartholomews were represented by Michael Quamina while Krishendath Neebar appeared for Smith.