On March 27, 2023, “Velve” filed a lawsuit against “s Bizness Publishing House” and Madžiņa for retracting false news and collecting compensation. “Velve” asked to admit that the defendants have spread false and damaging news of the plaintiff’s reputation with the phrase “recent publications of the company “Velve” controlled by Mar Martinsson, which are in complete contradiction to the announcements of the Competition Council about the case”.
“Velve” asked to oblige the defendants to withdraw the false news and apologize on the websites “db.lv” and “diena.lv” by publishing a retraction and apology.
“Velve” also asked to impose on “s Bizness” publishing house the obligation to remove from the internet sites “db.lv” and “diena.lv” Madžiņa’s article “: Manipulation should be ruled out in the case of the builders’ cartel” the phrase “Velve of the company “Velve” controlled by Māras Martinsons” recent publications, which are in complete contradiction with the announcements of the Competition Council on the case”.
The construction company also asked for an obligation to remove the phrase “companies related to the scandalous businessman Māri Martinsons” from the article published on the website “diena.lv”.
“Velve” also asked to recover jointly and severally from the defendants compensation for non-material damage in the amount of EUR 6,000 and all court costs.
In the opinion of “Velve”, the articles contain false and offensive information, which has damaged the plaintiff’s reputation and may negatively affect the plaintiff’s commercial activity.
The court concluded that the phrase in the article “: Manipulation should be ruled out in the case of the Builders’ cartel” cannot be recognized as news, but is a conclusion and opinion made by Madžiņas as the author of the article, which is based on a sufficient factual basis for drawing his conclusions and expressing his opinion. In the opinion of the court, the law “On the press and other means of mass information” regarding the withdrawal of false news cannot be applied to it.
Also, the court has not found a reason to remove the contested phrase from the article “Velvi is being led by KP, represented by lawyers” from the “diena.lv” website, as requested by the plaintiff. The court concluded that the article reasonably indicated the connection between the plaintiff and Martinson.
The court believes that there is no legal basis for recalling, deleting and apologizing messages, as well as for recovering compensation.
In the case under consideration, it is confirmed with the case materials that the article “: Manipulation must be ruled out in the case of the Builders’ Cartel” expresses the author’s conclusions based on a set of factual circumstances regarding Martinson’s control over the plaintiff, expresses an opinion regarding contradictions in the announcements of the Competition Council and the plaintiff’s publications, as well as Martinson’s connection with in the case of the plaintiffs’ “builders’ cartel” is based not only on the available information, but also on the statements of the plaintiff’s own former chairman of the board on the radio in the program, the court ruling said.
The judgment can be appealed to the Riga Regional Court within 20 days from the day of its announcement, by submitting the appeal to the Riga City Court.
In 2023, the construction company SIA “Velve” worked with a turnover of 67.384 million euros, which is 2.6% less than a year earlier, and the company suffered losses in the amount of 3.718 million euros, which is 16.9% more than a year earlier, according to “Firmas.lv” data.
The company “Velve” was registered in 1992, and the capital of the company is 1.423 million euros. The sole owner of the company is the AS “MN Holding” company, but the real beneficiary is Yekaterina Nikulina.
SIA “Izdevniecība “s biznes”” worked with a turnover of 1.037 million euros in 2023, which is 44.1% more than in 2022, while the company’s profit decreased 4.3 times – to 20,012 euros, according to the information “Firmas. lv” data.
The company was registered in 1993, and its share capital is 821,344 euros. The owners of the publishing house “s biznes” are Madžiņš (24.5%) and the company “Walburg” registered in Estonia (75.5%).