YouTuber being sued by boxing star Carl Frampton for allegedly disclosing details of a high-end watch purchase to defend action at trial
A YouTuber being sued by retired boxing star Carl Frampton for allegedly disclosing details of a high-end watch purchase is to be allowed to defend the action at trial, a judge has ruled.
Nico Leonard Van Der Horst is accused of breaching confidence by publicly revealing that the former two-weight world champion bought an expensive timepiece from his shop.
Mr Frampton sought damages for misuse of private information, claiming the entrepreneur and specialist watch advisor exploited his reputation in an online video.
He initially obtained a default judgment at the High Court in Belfast after Nico Leonard failed to enter an appearance. But a judge agreed to set aside that outcome after ruling that the luxury watch dealer has an arguable defence to the claims against him.
Master Harvey held that the case should proceed to trial despite criticising the defendant over delays in responding to the action.
“His conduct and deplorable online comments, twice referring to the court case as ‘funny’ after being served with proceedings clearly showed little regard for this court or the legal process, never mind the plaintiff,” he said.
Mr Frampton, who now works as a TV boxing pundit, sued over a posting on Nico Leonard’s YouTube channel in April 2022. Broadcast under the title ‘Watch expert reacts to Tyson Fury’s insane watch collection’, the video also allegedly revealed that Mr Frampton had made an expensive purchase from the businessman's shop.
The ex-champion claims his name was wrongly used to promote the defendant’s trade.
He also contended that the video had been edited in a way which was offensive and derogatory towards him.
The court heard that the clip was viewed more than 235,000 times before being edited to remove references to Mr Frampton. He is seeking damages for breach of confidence, misuse of private information, and breach of copyright.
Lawyers now instructed by Nico Leonard argued that there are grounds for defending the claim at a trial hearing. He made it clear in the video that Mr Frampton no longer used his shop and bought watches from a rival establishment, the court was told.
With the alleged breaches denied, it was also claimed that an online tweet about servicing another watch and a magazine photograph taken at a charity event amounted to the former boxer putting the information in the public domain.
Finding sufficient merit in the grounds advanced, Master Harvey granted Nico Leaonard’s application.
“On balance, whether the defence will ultimately succeed in whole or in part is uncertain, but I do consider the defendant raises issues which can only be dealt with at trial,” he confirmed.
“Based on the material available to me, on the facts of this application, there is an arguable defence which requires me to set aside the judgement.”
Master Harvey also made an award of legal costs to Mr Frampton.