A court yesterday dismissed a libel suit filed by a grandfather against his daughter-in-law, ruling that no action for damages could be upheld over words said in the course of a separation case.
The woman was sued because she alleged the grandfather had abducted her newborn baby daughter.
Magistrate Francesco Depasquale heard that when the baby was three weeks old, the woman and her husband had a fight and he took their daughter to his father’s home.
The mother reported this to the police and told them that her daughter had been kept away from her for a number of weeks.
In the course of the separation proceedings between the couple, the woman told a court-appointed social worker that she objected to her husband taking her daughter to the grandfather’s house.
The social worker testified that at no time did the mother allege that the grandfather had abducted her daughter.
Magistrate Depasquale said the case ought never to have been filed, as the woman’s allegation had been made in the course of judicial proceedings and were therefore covered by privilege.
Furthermore, the most important witness – the baby’s father – had not been asked to testify.
The libel case, he ruled, was a clear attempt to intimidate the mother and to stop her from fighting for her rights and those of her daughter.