A PROPERTY developer won £1,000 defamation damages after a jury found a council leader called him a "crook" but he could face legal bills of more than £100,000.

The High Court jury took just over two hours on Monday to reject Julia Coleman's denial of having twice described the chairman of Shendish Manor Ltd, Ralph Thornberry, as a crook.

The jurors found the then Dacorum Borough Council Leader did make the defamatory remarks to other council members on September 23 and December 1, 1997, at the council's civic offices.

But, after the jury awarded Mr Thornberry £1,000 for the defamation, the court was told Ms Coleman had made a formal offer to settle the case for £2,000 in May 1999.

Having failed to beat that offer, Mr Thornberry was ordered to pay legal costs including those of the five-day trial, during which both sides were represented by QCs. Lawyers outside court estimated Mr Thornberry's legal costs could be at least £100,000.

The developer's barrister, Stephen Hockman QC, had told the jury his client was of "unblemished reputation" and had wanted the council to allow housing development on land at Shendish Manor, a listed building occupying 160 acres.

Then Councillor Maurice Young told the jury Ms Coleman told him Mr Thornberry "was a crook and was only in business for a fast buck".

Then Councillor Paul Hinson, a Justice of the Peace, said she told him the developer "is a bloody crook and I have to count the fingers on my hand when I shake hands with him".

Mr Thornberry, who said he did not hear of the descriptions until nearly a year later, told the jury he was shocked and "gutted" to hear of the words used by Ms Coleman.

However Ms Coleman has consistently maintained she had never used the words attributed to her and refused Mr Thornberry's request for a public apology, the court was told.

After the jurors found she did make the comments alleged and made their award, Mr Hockman unsuccessfully applied for leave to appeal against the amount of damages awarded.

The judge had suggested that if the jurors found the words were said and they found the result to be at the "trivial" end, damages might be in the low thousands.

If they were found to be in the upper end of seriousness, he suggested £15,000 or a little higher.

But Mr Justice Gray told Mr Hockman his figures had only been a suggested bracket and he had difficulty seeing the jury's award as being one with which the Appeal Court would interfere.