Businessman faces costs of £2m after losing slander case

Irish businessman Mr Brian Maccaba lost his case against a senior rabbi over alleged sexual slurs in a London High Court yesterday…

Irish businessman Mr Brian Maccaba lost his case against a senior rabbi over alleged sexual slurs in a London High Court yesterday.

Mr Maccaba accused Dayan Yaakov Lichtenstein of spreading "poisonous" allegations that he was a "sexual predator" and a "serial adulterer" who chased after young married Jewish women.

Dublin-born Mr Maccaba, a 45-year-old married father of six, now faces costs of more than £2 million. The case, which lasted for 41 days, was the longest-running slander action in English legal history and became known as the Indecent Proposal case.

After nearly 32 hours of deliberations over six days the jury returned a 10 to 1 majority verdict, which resulted in Mr Maccaba losing his claims of slander and harassment.

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In a statement issued after the court case, Mr Maccaba said he brought this case "only after trying so very hard to have my complaints against Dayan Lichtenstein heard within the Jewish community".

"I am naturally very disappointed that we have not succeeded in convincing the court of my case in slander and harassment against Dayan Lichtenstein." He said he was consulting his legal team with regard to an appeal. - (PA)

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