Kiam Shaves $73,400 Off British Paper

Victor Kiam, owner of electric shaver maker Remington Corp., won $73,400 in libel damages from a British newspaper that said he had filed for bankruptcy protection.

The London-based Sunday Times claimed in December, 1991, that Kiam was being sued by National Westminster Bank after defaulting on a $13.5-million loan he used to buy a U.S. football team, the New England Patriots.

“I can now walk tall and say that they couldn’t just wipe it off with an apology in the paper. . . . I have been vindicated in the British courts system and I stand now clean and pure,” Kiam said after the decision.

The 67-year-old businessman said the newspaper report, which had resulted from a researching error, had damaged his reputation and dogged his business dealings. He was forced to contact suppliers all over the world and his executives had to inform retailers that the newspaper report was not true.