Category Archives: Trial

Hockey hoists Fairfax on its own placard: Hockey v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 652

Posted on July 14, 2015 by

On 5 May 2014, Fairfax, through the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times, ran a series of articles about a Liberal Party fundraising entity called the North Sydney Forum. North Sydney is the seat held by Australia’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Damages, Defamatory meaning, government and political matter, News, Qualified privilege, Trial, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Facebook and Twitter damages music to teacher’s ears: Mickle v Farley [2013] NSWDC 295

Posted on February 16, 2015 by

Orange is a large rural town in Western New South Wales and its High School became a site for a landmark defamation verdict. Yes, this case happened a while ago, but in our new age of social media, an interesting … Continue reading →

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Defendants’ go all-in: Plaintiff calls their bluff and wins the $340,000 pot: Polias v Ryall & Ors [2014] NSWSC 1692

Posted on February 9, 2015 by

The plaintiff and four defendants were poker players used to playing high stakes games: hands worth thousands of dollars. In the middle of 2012, the plaintiff and the first defendant went to Las Vegas for a tournament and shared a … Continue reading →

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No tort for breach of privacy in South Australian epic: Sands v South Australia [2013] SASC 44

Posted on April 18, 2013 by

In a trial that ran for 55 days late last year and concluding in February this year, the plaintiff, Derick John Sands, has lost his claim for defamation, as well as other claims including a breach of confidence and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute privilege, Damages, Identification, News, Privacy, Publication, Reciprocal duty-interest, Trial, Truth | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Hong Kong newspaper keeps its damages: Oriental Daily Publisher Ltd & Kwan v Ming Pao Holdings Ltd & Ors, in the Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Final Appeal No. 1 of 2012, 26 September 2012

Posted on April 12, 2013 by

As common as Hayley’s Comet, in Hong Kong, the defamation jury trial appears about once every 80 years. So although this particular decision was some months ago, I don’t think I will be around in 2093 for the next one, … Continue reading →

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Emphatic win for Aspergers’ Advocate: Gluyas v John Best Junior [2013] VSC 3

Posted on February 1, 2013 by

Now 47, Philip Gluyas was 31 when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. On the one hand, Asperger’s can mean that a person has difficulties empathizing with people and dealing with social interactions that many people take forgranted. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Damages, Defamatory meaning, Trial | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Tanzanian Tycoon’s Claim Falls Flat: Mengi v Hermitage [2012] EWHC 3445

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

In 2004, Sarah Hermitage, an English solicitor, and her husband, Stewart Middleton, an agronomist, bought a lease to the Silverdale Farm in Tanzania for $112,000. They wanted to live there peacefully and build up an agricultural business, exporting vegetables to … Continue reading →

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Murray Water Corporation sent down the river for $295,000: Belbin& Others v Lower Murray Urban and Rural Water Corporation [2012] VSC 535

Posted on January 9, 2013 by

In the northwest of Victoria sits the orange-picking town of Mildura on the Murray River. To get there from Melbourne usually involves a 6-hour drive or a small flight on a plane with a flip-top lid. But it was there … Continue reading →

Posted in Damages, fair and accurate report, Qualified privilege, Reciprocal duty-interest, Trial, Truth | Tagged , | 1 Comment

$200,000: Trkulja’s Second Big Win to Send Google into a Frenzy: Trkulja v Google Inc [2012] VSC [2012] VSC 533

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

In Silicon Valley, Google’s legal representatives will now be acquainting themselves with Australian defamation law and grimacing a lot, as for what seems to be the first time, a common law court has determined that, for the purposes of defamation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Damages, Defamatory meaning, Publication, Trial | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Cricket: Cairns’ £90,000 Damages out of proportion?… NOT OUT: Cairns v Modi [2012] EWHC 483 (QB)

Posted on November 9, 2012 by

The writer has barely coped with the mental devastation heaped on his football team in last month’s AFL Grand Final, but alas it is now but a distant suppressed memory  ….. and its cricket season! Early in the year, Chris … Continue reading →

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