Kintyre boss Tyrone Wilson has filed a claim in the Supreme Court against Sun Coast principal Kevin for defamatory statements made on WhatsApp.

There has been an impasse between the two business leaders, and neither has been able to find a resolution and put this matter to bed.

Wilson maintains that Frith maliciously published defamatory and or false of and about the claimant to persons other than the claimant on WhatsApp.

The claim then goes on to state that “the defamatory and/or false statements published by the Defendant on WhatsApp were subsequently republished on social media platforms, including Instagram and X. Such republications were reasonably foreseeable by the defendant.

“The republications caused great mental, physical, social and financial injury to the claimant. He was isolated due to the distasteful commentary on social media platforms by members of society. He faced great anxiety and depression. The frequency of his sickle cell flares significantly increased, and he developed further illnesses. He has suffered great financial loss as a result, including, but not limited to, the plummeting of the value of his companies and the withdrawal of business deals. Further, the reputational damage has hindered his ability to seek new business opportunities.”

This squabble centres on a business dispute between the two young men that should have been easily resolved. It has now been escalated and has turned ugly.

These days, everyone turns to social media to air gripes and little care is taken with what is disseminated. It is now a societal problem. Social media should be better regulated and guardrails put up to ensure people are not defamed and maligned.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has said that his government would be looking at curtailing damaging statements wilfully broadcast on social media, and for that, he was accused of curtailing free speech and ‘trying to gag’ bloggers, YouTubers and vloggers. 

In this instance, Kevin Frith posted: “Tyrone wanted to take over my company, Ideas Execution, under false pretences, and my consultant Courtney Walker objected to the deal after discovering his intentions.

“Tyrone has possession of my 2020 BMW X5, to which we had an arrangement for him to buy by paying a deposit and making monthly payments. For eight consecutive months, I have received no payment from him, and I have to be paying the insurance premium for the car he is flossing around with and refusing to return to me after several requests by my lawyer.

“Since March 2023, I have been trying to settle some matters amicably. Tyrone has done some very deceiving and dishonest things towards me, and I have kept silent on these issues outside of whom I reach out to seeking their assistance for a resolution.”

This needed both to sit as gentlemen, air their grievances between them and no one else and then put things right, sort it. Instead, it garnered a life of its own on social media.

All too often, with the younger business leaders, they equate business success with how much money is attained and what trappings of wealth one possesses. It’s also about how you conduct yourself, how you assess and apply yourself to given situations. You never see business leaders like Chris Zacca, William Mahfood, Jeffery Hall and Nicholas Scott getting into these contretemps in the public domain—it is beneath them and quite rightfully so.

The new generation of business leaders must get both Wilson and Frith together and point out the folly of their ways. This should never have been a battle fought on social media. It should have been handled quietly and respectfully, with no one losing face.

Which business leaders can come between these two and mediate this, be the voice of reason, ensure both are coming to the table with cool heads? 

This dispute doesn’t need lawyers or even to go to court.

Frith goes on to spill the beans, supposedly writing: “ I agreed take out a loan of $155 million to assist him with the acquisition of Visual Vibe, we agreed on the shares of AHL SPV to be transferred to me as my security until the loan is repaid, and to date the shares are still not transferred to me… and the man was taken out from December 2022 as well as he misled me in signing a personal guarantee for the said loan. In addition to that, he has missed the first quarterly interest payment to the bank that was due March 31, 2023, with another one becoming due June 30, 2023”.

“This, in my opinion, is the highest level of deception anyone could do to someone they consider to be a friend, especially during the process of me trying to help him.”

One can assume Tyrone didn’t want his dirty linen aired in public. This may have irked him and led to this legal action. Tensions got ratcheted up rather than air taken out of the balloon.

Both are nice fellas, and this is a real shame. This dispute should never have been allowed to be in the public domain, and neither party comes out looking good.

Tyrone has staged a turnaround with his companies this year, and for that, he should be commended.  Kevin’s Sun Coast development project in St Thomas is splendid, and he has done a remarkable job there. They should be revered for what they have accomplished, not gain notoriety for throwing mud at each other.

It’s still not too late for someone to get Tyrone and Kevin together and get the respective parties to come to an amicable agreement.