Court rejects ‘duplicate’ lawsuit against journalist and Nation News Network

Myanmar Pongpipat Co Ltd sued both defendants, alleging they defamed it in a news report about the environmental impact on locals from its Heinda Mine in Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region.
On Monday, the court ruled that the lawsuit was a duplicate of a case the company had filed with a Nakhon Pathom court and so it must be dismissed.
The Roi Et court ruled to cancel the case’s preliminary examination.
The plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the Nakhon Pathom court in March 20, before filing the same lawsuit at the Roi Et court on April 18.
The plaintiff’s lawyer told the Roi Et court that the plaintiff had filed the lawsuits at the two courts only.
The defendant lawyer, Sor Rattanamanee Polkla, said the verdict could be a model for similar cases and stop the malpractice of duplicating lawsuits, which hurt defendants.
“The court dropped this case entirely and we do not have to merge this case with the case at the Nakhon Pathom court,” she said. “Therefore, we will have to pursue the case at the Nakhon Pathom court only.
“The (Roi Et) court reasoned that this is because the case was entirely the same with the Nakhon Pathom court and the case was at the preliminary examination stage.”
The Nakhon Pathom court has summon both sides to conduct the preliminary examination on the case on July 17.