A woman who was labelled “a vigilante” in a Facebook community group post after forcing cyclists off a shared path with a stick has failed in her bid to sue the poster for defamation.
Sandra Prouten filed a defamation case in the NSW District Court after her photo was shared on the “Warner’s Bay People and Friends” Facebook community page.
Cyclist Anthony Buxton made the post on his personal page in April 2020, which was then shared to the group by a separate user.
The post recounted an encounter between the pair while on a shared path at a park near Newcastle, two hours north of Sydney.
“DO YOU KNOW THIS LADY PLEASE SHARE,” the post said.
“The Warners Bay Vigilante. This is my second encounter with this poor excuse for a senior citizen today.
“Last week whilst riding over the metal section of the cycleway just prior to Eleebana Park I was struck on the leg by something which scared the hell out of me and I nearly hit the guide rail.
“Looking back I saw this lady walking in the opposite direction with a small stick and she was deliberately hitting any bike rider that passed in the opposite direction.
“I stopped and turned around and spoke to her indicating that was she was doing could actually be constituted as assault and her reply was ‘GOOD’, I asked her to stop doing this and she basically told me where to get off!
“Naturally this did not impress me so I got off my bike walked past her and took the above photo.”
Mr Buxton said he suffered a red mark on his calf from the woman’s stick.
The couple then reported the incident to the police, who interviewed Ms Prouten.
She told police she was carrying the stick to “keep away mosquitoes and flies”.
Mr Buxton deleted the post on his personal page on April 25 after speaking to the police.
In her case, Ms Prouten claims she was still known in the community as the “stick lady” even several years later.
On Tuesday, Judge Judith Gibson ruled in favour of the cyclist, saying she was “comfortably satisfied” that on both April 18 and 24, Ms Prouten was carrying sticks to “ward away cyclists not insects”.
“As to being a vigilante, the plaintiff had no authority to be confronting bicyclists with a stick of any kind, no matter what the reason,” Judge Gibson said.
“That is conduct warranting a description of her as a vigilante.”
Judge Gibson also noted Mr Buxton was not the person who shared the post with the community group.
“While the plaintiff suffered deep distress, this remained at all times a local issue.”
Judge Gibson ruled in favour of the defendant with legal costs to be determined at a later date.