Category Archives: Trial

Hobart Mercury’s Sleazy Campaign Yields Record Damages: Gunston v Davies Brothers Ltd [2012] TASSC 15

Andrew Gunston was a policeman in Tasmania whojoined the Force in 1982. On the night of 12 October 2001, while off duty, he went to the Queenstown’s  Empire Hotel for a drink. Or a few drinks. And a game of … Continue reading

Posted in Damages, fair and accurate report, Fair comment, News, Trial | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Banker’s sexual harassment and defamation claims demolished: Dye v Commsec [2012] FCA 242

From March 2005 until November 2007, Vivienne Dye worked for Commsec. Her position was made redundant, and later, she made a claim to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission that she had been sexually harassed by two senior executives, … Continue reading

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Estate agent wins damages against Alice Spring News: Forrest v Chlanda & Anor [2012] NTSC 14

  The plaintiff was a real estate agent in Alice Springs who operated under the name First National Real Estate Framptons. He was also the Southern regional representative of the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory. The self-represented defendants … Continue reading

Posted in Damages, Honest opinion, Qualified privilege, Reciprocal duty-interest, Trial | Tagged | 1 Comment

Cairns belts match-fixing claim out of the ground: Cairns v Modi [2012] EWHC 756 (QB)

In 1983 I remember going to the MCG with my father and watching a swashbuckling New Zealand batsman, Lance Cairns, belt 6 sixes all around the biggest ground in the world, off some of the finest fast bowlers in the … Continue reading

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Music promoter wins $225,000: Trkulja v Yahoo! Inc LLC & Yahoo! 7 Pty Ltd [2012] VSC 88

Michael Trkulja was born in Yugoslavia in 1950. He migrated to Australia at 20 and in the early 1970s, while working in a travel agency business, began promoting singers and entertainers in the Yugoslav community. His work as a music … Continue reading

Posted in Damages, Publication, Trial | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Failure to stretch Lange defence for foreign language papers: The Korean Times Pty Ltd & Anor v Un Dok Pak [2011] NSWCA 365

The plaintiff was born in Korea and moved to Australia when she was 15. She studied Economics and Law, became a solicitor and also married another solicitor (Ki Beom Kwon). She and her husband were heavily involved in the Korean … Continue reading

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Chatroom defamation: Don’t defend and down $30,000: Leech v Green & Gold Energy Pty Ltd [2011] NSWSC 999

The plaintiff asserted he was defamed on a blog, the defendant did not appear at Court and judgment was entered in default. On assessment of the damages, which was still done unopposed, Fullerton J found that the first blog carried … Continue reading

Posted in Damages, News, Trial | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Can the Judge order that the trial be without a jury? Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd v Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells [2001] NSWCA 246

The circumstances of this appeal were as follows: • the plaintiff, a Senator from NSW, was funded to go to Italy on a study trip in 2009. She wrote a 620-page report on the Australian Wool Industry; • “Today Tonight” … Continue reading

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Mick Molloy and Before the Game: Just not funny: Nicole Cornes v Channel Ten [2011] SASC 104

For those who follow the AFL, Before the Game is a well-known television show on Channel Ten that precedes each Saturday night’s match and has done so for many years. On its panel are a range of football journalists and … Continue reading

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