Megastar Rihanna is to be served with papers for an Irish defamation writ at her New York apartment over remarks made about her former head of security, Dubliner Geoffrey Keating.
A High Court judge in Ireland has ruled that the papers can be delivered to Rihanna in the US as Keating seeks redress for the ‘nauseatingly offensive’ remarks.
The former security chief claims that his reputation and business have been damaged by the remarks contained in an email from Rihanna.
Lawyers for the Dubliner told the court that he was defamed in a series of false statements contained in an email sent by the 26-year-old actress/singer in July of last year.
The Irish Independent reports that the e-mail was sent both to Mr Keating and his wife.
The court heard that Keating denies the allegations made against him in the e-mail and further claims that the untrue statements contained in the communication have gravely injured his reputation and his business.
The paper reports that Keating has launched proceedings seeking damages from the singer.
He has also asked the Irish High Court to grant him a number of orders, including one directing the singer to publish a correction of the alleged defamation.
Keating’s lawyers secured permission from Mr Justice Michael Peart to serve notice of the intended proceedings on Robyn Fenty, aka Rihanna, outside the court’s Irish jurisdiction.
The judge ordered that the papers can be served on Rihanna at her home address at a penthouse apartment on Lafayette Street in the Soho district of Manhattan.
The application was granted on an ex-parte basis as only one side was represented in court.
Lawyer Keith Spencer told the court his client had acted as head of security for the singer while she was on tour between October 2012 and July 2013.
No details of the alleged defamatory remarks were given in open court. Spencer said the email contained allegations that were ‘nauseatingly offensive.’
The report adds that Spencer said the same defamatory allegations were also made in a phone call by the Barbados-born singer to Keating’s sister in July 2013.
He told the judge that Keating’s solicitor Gerald Kean had attempted to serve the proceedings on firms of solicitors based both in Ireland and in the UK.
These firms informed Kean that they did not have the authority to accept proceedings on Rihanna’s behalf.
As a result Keating’s lawyers sought permission from the Irish High Court to serve the proceedings on Rihanna at her home address in New York.
Justice Peart admitted he had no ‘judicial knowledge’ of who Rihanna is and said he was satisfied to make the order allowing Keating’s lawyers to serve the singer with notice of the proceedings at that address.
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