The founder of the Solicitors from Hell website has been ordered to pay damages of £10,000 after publishing defamatory claims that a solicitor was dishonest.

Rick Kordowski’s site published a complaint in March made by Tim Smee about Marlow firm Gabbitas Robins.

Smee had posted on the site that Stephen Robins, a solicitor for more than 30 years, had been the ‘most dishonourable unscrupulous’ professional he had ever met, after instructing him over a dispute with a Gabbitas Robins client, named as Mr Bonwick. Smee went on to settle his claim.

High Court judge Mr Justice Tugendhat today ruled that Kordowski had no knowledge of the dispute in question, and there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations published online.

Kordowski applied for the libel claim to go to a full trial, but it was ruled that he had no real prospect of successfully defending the claim.

The court heard that Kordowski has not offered any correction or apology, and asserted a right to defend the proceedings with defences of truth and honest comment.

He sent an email to Smee after legal action was threatened suggesting ‘we take these people on’, the court was told.

The email added: ‘Don’t worry, I will prepare the defence and represent us in the High Court and it will not cost a penny in terms of outlay! (I have done it before).’

In his judgment, Tugendhat said: ‘The allegations that Mr Robins had lied in the court of the litigation between Mr Bonwick and Mr Smee, and that Mr Robins had acted in any way dishonestly or in breach of his duty to his client Mr Bonwick, are false and defamatory of him and the claimant firm.’

He ordered Kordowski to pay £10,000 in damages to Robins.

The claimants also asked for an order restraining Kordowski from further publishing the matter complained of, and that material has now been removed.

The judgment is the latest setback for the controversial website, which may face further legal proceedings after the Law Society threatened to commence two legal actions against it in May.

The Society’s solicitors Brett Wilson are currently gathering evidence for a potential class action against the website. Solicitors named on the website can contact Brett Wilson.

Kordowski said: ‘I have recognised past failings and I will not be deterred from facilitating others in exposing, where it exists, wrongdoing by solicitors - the past has been trial and error but the judgments against me have pointed the way for the site to avoid further claims.’