No win no fee victory for football fan
It is not rare for a football fan to voice displeasure at the bad performance of their club, but it is rare for the club to sue the fan for
defamation. This is exactly what happened to Nigel Short, a Sheffield Wednesday fan though.
Thanks to a no win no fee arrangement, Mr Short fought back against his accusers, something he could never afford without the service.
The club accused Short of posting on Internet message board owlstalk.co.uk "false and seriously defamatory messages" and threatened "proceedings to include claims for injunctions, damages, interest and legal costs (which could be substantial)"
The club spent an estimated £9,000 trying unsuccessfully to identify half a dozen others but were unable to uncover their identities.
"I've had two and a half years of worrying I was going to lose my house," Short told George Monbiot. "It's been hell, [without] no win, no fee, I would have been bankrupt by now."
Wednesday finally dropped the case after Mr. Short recovered from cancer treatment earlier this month.
Updated on 17/09/2008