Court Limits Private Investigator Use in Defamation Lawsuits

A Haifa District Court judge has dismissed a NIS 8 million defamation lawsuit filed by TV Center owners Ronen and Galit Har-Even against several major electronics retailers. The couple alleged that employees of Traklin, Electra Retail, Electro Kobi, A.L.M., and Mahsaney Hashmal systematically slandered them. The Har-Evens claimed the retailers, in collaboration with official importers, sought to push them out of the television import market.

According to the plaintiffs, a private investigator they hired, Haim Lankri, visited 255 stores. He inquired about purchasing televisions, allegedly prompting store employees to defame the couple and parallel imports in general. Lankri reportedly concluded that the employees were reciting a uniform talking point. The lawsuit was initially for NIS 25 million but was later reduced.

The retailers denied all allegations, asserting that their employees' statements were legitimate within commercial competition and that there was no coordination among them. Judge Ron Sokol ruled that the plaintiffs failed to provide any evidence to prove the alleged defamatory statements were made by the retailers' employees. He noted that video and audio recordings were not submitted as evidence, and attempts to prove their authenticity were lacking. The defense argued that the recordings were edited and did not reflect actual events.

Sokol further elaborated on defamation law, stating that for a statement to be considered defamation, it must be published to a third party other than the injured party. He ruled that when a private investigator is hired specifically to elicit defamatory remarks about the plaintiff, the investigator should not be considered a 'third party' for the purposes of defamation law. This ruling, believed to be the first of its kind from a District Court, sets a precedent for lower courts.

Additionally, Sokol stated that the retailers' remarks against parallel importers constituted defamation of the public, which cannot be the basis for a private lawsuit. The Har-Evens were ordered to pay NIS 175,000 in legal costs. The couple represented themselves after dismissing their attorney late in the proceedings.