Intermission

The French Court has returned our bond and declared that legal action against John Szczepaniak should take place in the UK. Behind the court's decision is John's testimony that he was and is a resident of the UK, and therefore bears the burden of liability in that country. Fortunately for us, John's trial delays in France were not enough to outlast the statute of limitations for libel in the UK.

Stay tuned. This may be a larger case than we expected.

Verdict

Because the court could not sufficiently establish John's residency in France, it has decided that the case is outside its jurisdiction. Dismissed. Why was this not decided at the consignation in June? Why did we have to endure two trial delays by opposing counsel, only to have him argue that John is not a resident after all, so none of this matters? Awful. Just awful.

We still don't know whether the court has issued a ruling on the libel itself. I will post again once we have a fuller understanding of the decision.

Verdict expected this week...

I will post another update once we have received and understood the court's decision.

Over the last several days, I have debated whether a review of John’s libel, stretching from late 2013 to the present, would be a useful addition to this blog. Yes, it would help to trace the trajectory of John’s behaviour, as it veered from peevish self-deception into purely malicious invention (and more recently, grandiose paranoia), but would it lead to a better outcome? Not really. We are only days away from a verdict, and if we get the verdict we deserve, our next task will be to leave John Szczepaniak in our rear-view mirror. A more thorough audit of John’s libel might be necessary at some point. Right now, it just feels counterproductive.

As always, I am happy to answer questions about the case via linkedIn.