NZ Twitter user ordered to pay $293,000 after defaming Australian mining investor

An NZ Twitter user has been ordered to pay $293,000 in damages. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Alan Davison, the New Zealander behind the well-known anonymous Twitter handle Stock Swami, has been ordered to pay A$275,000 (NZ$293,000) after defaming an Australian mining investor, a court has ruled.

In 2020, former stockbroker turned mining executive Tolga Kumova – a former Australian Financial Review Young Rich Lister – launched legal proceedings against Davison, who reportedly lives in Tauranga, over a number of posts on the social media platform between 2019 and 2020.

The accusations alleged Kumova was involved in a syndicate schemed to inflate the value of stocks he owned, specifically his substantial shareholding in Australian stock exchange-listed (ASX) Bellevue Gold.

After a trial in Australia last year, which Davison was ordered to attend, the matter was heard in a Sydney court on Monday morning before Justice Michael Lee.

Judgment

His order, published online late Monday afternoon, stated Davison must pay aggravated damages of A$275,000 (NZ$293,000) with interest at a rate of 3 per cent, including costs.

According to a report in the AFR yesterday, Justice Lee told the court the allegations against Kumova were of “very serious misconduct” and “grave breaches of the law” with the awarded amount to reflect that.

The order noted that Davison, through his solicitor, had given an undertaking to the court that he or his servants and agents would “take no steps” to publish or republish the imputation that had been found until February 10 at 4pm.

A further hearing would be held on February 10 where other issues would be dealt with, such as determining legal costs. Davison told BusinessDesk that he’ll need time with his legal team before discussing the matter further.

“I’m obviously disappointed but will have further comments after discussing the full written judgment with my lawyers,” Davison said.

The Twitter account

The account biography described the Twitter feed as a “cynical and cranky take on the ASX professional company operators making a play on retail”.

“Citizen Journalist lighting a small candle in a dark room,” it said.

On December 19, a tweet by the account claimed a judgment was due within a week and he’d “won the war” against Kumova.

Last year, the court ruled Davison couldn’t claim to be a journalist after he tried to invoke “journalistic privilege” under Australia’s Evidence Act. Kumova’s statement In a statement provided to BusinessDesk, Kumova said the judgment marked the end of years of harassment that he’d suffered “at the hands of an online troll on Twitter”.

“I feel I have been fully vindicated by the Federal Court,” he said.

The court action, Kumova said, was about defending his personal and professional reputation from unwarranted attack, and for those many people who had suffered abuse on social media from anonymous trolls.

“The court ruling is a clear message to those abusing social media – you can and will be held to account.

“I am grateful to the court for the expeditious conduct of the matter and want to thank my family, my friends and my legal team for their unwavering support through a very difficult chapter of my life that has now come to a close,” he said.