14 Nov 2014
INFOGRAPHIC: Cell C case a win for freedom of expression
With the recent Cell C court case loss against an irate customer who made a billboard targeting its poor service, we examine freedom of expression in post-1994 SA.
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13 Nov 2014
Zwelethu Nkosi tweeted: "Cell C will be a case study on how NOT to handle a client complaint."
13 Nov 2014
Clasfras1 tweeted: "Cell C 'useless service provider' billboard cost 61k ... and damage to the brand will cost millions."
13 Nov 2014
Claude tweeted: "Dear Cell C, you could have hired a junior fresh out of University who would do a better job than your current PR team!"
13 Nov 2014
Sure Kamhunga wrote on Twitter: "Egg splash on Cell C as judge dismisses case. As I said before, should have engaged customer."
13 Nov 2014
Van Zyl: George Prokas did not attend today's judgment, but his attorney said he expected him to be happy with the news (obviously).
13 Nov 2014
Raymond Druker, George Prokas' attorney, told Fin24 tech editor Gareth van Zyl that this judgment stops the urgent application; it's unclear whether Cell C will take further action.
13 Nov 2014
There has been huge reaction to Cell C losing its case. People say that the company's legal and PR team should be axed:
13 Nov 2014
In an urgent application before Judge Weiner, Christopher Whittcutt, for Cell C, argued the anti Cell C banner was a defamatory statement, and unashamedly so. The judge disagreed and has dismissed the application with costs.
13 Nov 2014
Judge: "And the application is accordingly dismissed with costs".
13 Nov 2014
Judge talking about a previous "Worst 4x4 by far" Land Rover case.
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13 Nov 2014
Judge: "And he [defendant] believed that it was true that this is what he described as a 'useless' service provider."
13 Nov 2014
Judge: "He (defendant) believed that in his view, the service that he received was paltry."
13 Nov 2014
Fin24 user Simon Baloyi writes: "Customers must read terms and conditions when signing a contract, if a
phone is BER it means it quoted out of warranty and the customer has to pay for
repairs."
13 Nov 2014
Judge: "The question then is if the comments were fair."
13 Nov 2014
So urgent application dismissed but Judge now dealing with other arguments such as defamation.
13 Nov 2014
Judge saying Cell C shoudn't have brought in its application earlier when banner threat was issued on 23 Oct.
13 Nov 2014
The Judge has therefore said the application is not urgent and she has dismissed it on this basis.
13 Nov 2014
Fin24 user Mathakha Musehane wrote: " Cell C concedes that their customer service is terrible...
The court first has to decide if the customer is correct in complaining or not,
only then they will attend to the matter."
13 Nov 2014
Judge: "Now Judge Weiner is moving onto Cell C's arguments that the banner is unlawful."
13 Nov 2014
Judge: "The exact amount regarding the dispute is R5 754."
13 Nov 2014
Judge: On 28 Oct defendant says he was still listed as a bad payer .
13 Nov 2014
Fin24 user Collin Sithole wrote in to say: "Cell C should just stop defending the indefensible and take time for
introspection. The question should be: what are we doing wrong? Could there be
a lot of clients who feel the same way?"
But Fin24 user Simon Baloyi asked:
"How can he use Cell C trade mark on the banner?"
13 Nov 2014
Judge: Defendant then threatened to erect banner if the phone dispute was not solved by 17:00 on October 24.
13 Nov 2014
Judge: This was the defendant's daughter's phone.
13 Nov 2014
Judge: Defendant wanted his default listing to be removed because he said a handset in repair racked up a R5 000 bill.
13 Nov 2014
Judge: The defendant says his account was handed over to a debt collection agency.
13 Nov 2014
Judge: This whole case stems from a phone repair incident that is alleged to have gone wrong.
13 Nov 2014
Judge: "I will attempt to find a middle path between both versions."
13 Nov 2014
The defense lawyer in the Cell C banner case argued on Wednesday that the urgent interdict brought by the mobile service provider is "a proverbial storm in a teacup" and "an attempt to block criticism".
FULL STORY
13 Nov 2014
Yesterday, when forming his argument around freedom of speech, the lawyer for George Prokas said the banner forms part of comment / opinion: "The facts do not have to be set out," he argued.
13 Nov 2014
Court is in session.
13 Nov 2014
Judge Sharise Weiner is running through the facts of the case.
13 Nov 2014
Judge Sharise Weiner has arrived at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.
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