The high court in Johannesburg has dismissed a defamation case brought by training company Ketler Presentations after it was listed in the “hall of shame” for digital spammers run by the Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa). The case was dismissed with costs.

Ispa’s hall of shame lists South African companies that engage in bulk e-mail spamming, which is against the association’s code of conduct.

Ketler Presentations was added to the list in 2009 after it was found to have continued to send unsolicited e-mails despite having signed an undertaking that it would cease doing so. Consequently, Ispa opted to keep Ketler Presentations on the list for three years.

Ispa co-chair Marc Furman says the association doesn’t have any further information and is waiting for the full ruling from the high court, which will outline the reasons for the judgment. Nevertheless, he says Ispa is “very happy with the decision”.

Although Ispa has received complaints in the past from members when they have been added to the hall of shame, Ketler Presentations was the first to take legal action.

Though it’s unclear what motivated the court to dismiss Ketler Presentations’ case Furman says the one-page ruling Ispa has seen includes reference to the result being “reportable”, which suggests the court deems the ruling to be in the public interest.

Ispa regulatory adviser Dominic Cull says the association could have dealt with the matter before allowing it to be heard, but thought it was “worth trying to get a judgment to set a precedent”.

Ispa argued that it was entitled to publish the hall of shame report because it believes it is in the public interest.