Minister Vaz and PNP General Secretary Campbell settle defamation lawsuit on eve of trial

A defamation lawsuit brought by government minister Daryl Vaz and fellow complainants against People's National Party General Secretary Dr. Dayton Campbell has been settled, bringing an end to a legal fight that was scheduled to open in court.

The parties reached agreement before trial proceedings could get under way. Mr. Vaz filed the suit in August 2023 over comments Dr. Campbell made at the PNP's Clarendon Northwestern Annual Conference the previous month.

Attorney Alexander Williams, acting for St. Thomas Western Member of Parliament James Robertson and former St. Ann Northwestern MP Othneil Lawrence, appeared remotely and told the court the sides had settled. Dr. Campbell's attorneys, Sheena Stubbs Gibson and Ruel Gibson, stepped outside the courtroom to sign the settlement documents. Minutes later, Mr. Vaz left the court accompanied by his lawyer, Katherine Minto.

When the matter resumed, Justice Tricia Hutchinson Shelley was formally advised that all parties had reached a settlement, and the court endorsed the agreement.

On the day before, Mr. Robertson and Dr. Campbell were seen laughing and talking throughout the session. Asked whether their interaction pointed to a deal, Mr. Robertson said, "It's genuine and it was genuine. That's what matters in life. We are Christian. We are Christian with principle. And I must tell I have had bad interaction. And I understand what the campaign trail is like. That is 10 months old and I am willing to apologize to anybody when I first was on the ground."

Pressed on why the matter was left until the trial date, Dr. Campbell said all options remained on the table. "Both Othneil and James are persons that I know — I can't say that I've ever had a bad interaction with either of them. We've disagreed obviously because we're from different political parties, but I can't say that I've had any bad interaction with them. There are things that were said that unwittingly would have communicated some things and those are not things that I wanted to communicate and therefore I offered an unreserved apology to them. And that apology will be made public."

Mr. Lawrence described the settlement as a sign of maturity. "That Jamaica can see that regardless of her different differences in politics, at the end of the day we are still brothers and sisters of this nation in the sense that we have to set the example. And a lot of things are happening in our country — people are looking up to us. And at this point in time, I think this is very much a good example for us to set for others to come."