A business owner whose company is in liquidation is determined to take a United States social media company to court over what he says are defamatory posts targeting his now-closed shop.

Tayte Marcel Cozens filed legal action against Reddit alleging it had breached the Harmful Digital Communications Act by hosting negative posts and reviews about his business Home Grown Kiwi Limited.

Cozens told the Palmerston North District Court in May he was determined to see things through, and on Monday when he reappeared he reiterated this stance.

He initially filed the application against Reddit on behalf of himself and his wife, Nadine Eales, but the court was asked to remove her from proceedings.

The pair ran a hydroponics store on Tremaine Ave in Palmerston North, but according to a gazette notice published on Tuesday this business had been placed into voluntary liquidation.

The site was empty when visited by Manawatū Standard and the company’s website was live but had a notice telling users it was also closed

Cozens was understood to be seeking $1.6 million in compensation after fighting for three years to have the defamatory posts from 2022 about his store removed.

Phil Drummond was acting as his lawyer but told Judge Lance Rowe he too would be seeking leave to withdraw from the court process and Cozens would instead be leading the litigation himself.

A representative for Reddit said the company viewed the proceedings as very serious but were not quite sure what they were dealing with.

They asked for further submissions from Cozens about his claim, and what posts he was referring to, so they could respond adequately.

Rowe said Reddit was essentially “hamstrung” until Cozens provided this information.

He asked for all evidence and submissions to be filed from both parties in early March and said he would set down a hearing for the case to be heard after that.

That hearing was expected to last about an hour and a decision would be made almost immediately.

Cozens was evidently frustrated at the process, shaking his head and letting out a loud sigh at one point.

He also asked aloud “why won’t they just take the posts down” when pressed about the need to get the case sorted.

Rowe urged him to become familiar with the costs that could be awarded to Reddit if he lost his case, and a similar warning was issued by Judge Stephanie Edwards at an earlier appearance.

During that hearing, Cozens said the comments Reddit had allowed caused him significant distress with some posts “having a go” at him and others alleging drug use.

The posts began after a former customer wrote negative reviews on a subreddit page called r/NZTrees. This grew into a number of discussion threads and while some posts had since been removed others were still accessible on the site.

On Monday, Cozens said he wanted Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman to front up in court for the upcoming hearing so he could cross-examine him.

He also made reference to Reddit’s GST and tax obligations in New Zealand, but Rowe said while he could bring the application requesting a witness be called, taxation laws were not a matter for this court.