A court has thrown out a bid by landlord-turned-screenwriter Christian Carter to use new anti-stalking laws to “silence” a journalist, preventing her from writing stories about him for five years.
In a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Anthony Halpin criticised Mr Carter’s attempt to “gag” Amy Molloy, the Irish Independent’s social affairs correspondent, saying it was not the purpose of the civil restraining order regime introduced last year.
The journalist has written about Mr Carter’s days as a landlord and about his tax affairs, Dublin District Court heard.
Dismissing the case, Judge Halpin said: “I never envisaged that this forum would be used to dilute journalistic freedom or restrict publication of certain matters.
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“The civil restraining orders became necessary because of the inability of the law to restrain offending behaviour or conduct which is socially disruptive and unacceptable.”
He held that Mr Carter endeavoured to use this legal remedy to “suppress” the legitimate publication of facts he did not want in the public domain.
Judge Halpin ordered Dubliner Mr Carter to pay a €10,000 legal bill incurred by Mediahuis, the publishers of the Irish Independent, and he lifted an order to permit the naming of the parties.
Ronan Lupton SC, for the newspaper and the reporter, described the civil restraining order application as a collateral attack that trampled on the right of freedom of expression.
In evidence, Ms Molloy rejected suggestions from the applicant’s solicitor, Alex Rafter, that she stepped over the line. She told Judge Halpin she was simply seeking a comment, offering Mr Carter the right to reply, which was a fundamental part of journalism.
Mr Carter said she had written 50 articles and rehashed stories about him since 2017. Some also mentioned his sister, award-winning businesswoman Melissa Carter, and he believed that was to sell more papers.
He told the court Ms Molloy recently attempted to contact his wife by emailing her agent.
Mr Carter claimed this caused him distress and depression and put him in fear because he thought it could affect his wife’s acting career.
He said he had moved on with his life, earned a law degree, worked in arbitration and commenced a career as a screenwriter.
In evidence, the reporter said since 2017 she has written articles concerning properties Mr Carter rented out and when he appeared on the tax defaulters list last year.
One of the properties written about extensively in the media was a Cabinteely, Co Dublin, property, which was alleged to have had 70 tenants. Mr Carter claimed it was a 6,000 sq ft 25-roomed mansion with 40 tenants. The Circuit Court ordered him to pay €20,000 to some of his tenants.
Judge Halpin heard Mr Carter was also featured in a 2017 RTÉ Investigates broadcast called Nightmare to Let.
Ms Molloy said she had written 17 or 18 pieces about the businessman concerning his issues with the Residential Tenancies Board, a council and the Revenue Commissioners.
She said that a source informed her that Mr Carter recently travelled to various destinations including South America, Canada, and Hawaii. Ms Molloy said that, in light of that, she attempted to reach out to him for comment on whether he had paid up following his settlement of nearly one million euro with the Revenue Commissioners after under-declaring income tax.
Ms Molloy said she only contacted his wife’s agent because it seemed her WhatsApp messages to Mr Carter’s phone were not received and the reporter thought he may have blocked her.
Ms Molloy said she had no intention of mentioning the actress in her planned article.
Judge Halpin noted that, having been granted a short-term civil restraining order on April 9th, Mr Carter sent an email a day later to the paper’s news editor seeking a private compromise.
Such a move was “totally unacceptable” and undermined the bona fides of his application before the court, the judge said.
