Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Cell C is seeking interim relief from a customer who and the mall that displayed a "defamatory" banner brandishing the mobile service provider as "useless".,
Cell C turned to the court on Wednesday for an urgent interdict to have the banner removed after it said it repeatedly asked both George Prokas and the WorldWear Mall to remove it.
Cell C's lawyer Christopher Whittcutt on Wednesday argued that there can be no dispute that the banner is defamatory.
He said there is a balancing act between freedom of expression and right to privacy and dignity regarding the cell number (number displayed on banner).
The life size banner complete with a Cell C logo is displayed at the WorldWear Mall along Beyers Naude Drive in Johannesburg. It reads: "The most useless service provider in SA - Cell C Sandton City."
On Wednesday morning, pictures on Twitter showed the word useless changed to useful and the footer of the banner changed to "We love Cell C".
The footer contained the name of the Cell C franchise manager and his phone number, which is at the heart of the Cell C banner case.
Cell C argued that no one has the freedom to disclose other people's phone numbers.
The South Gauteng High Court earlier heard that the dispute was over a R5 000 arrear account. The defendant claim to have spent R61 000 on the banner.
The defence said the defendant had a dispute regarding a phone that was not repaired to his requirements.
The defence's argument mostly centred around freedom of speech. The lawyer argued that the publication of the banner was not unlawful and that it expressed fair comment. He also defined fair comment as protected comment.
Judge Sharise Weiner is set to hand down judgment on Thursday.
