When world views collide … As the fallout continues from the jury verdict in Chris Gayle’s defamation trial against Fairfax, media lawyer Graham Hryce suggests why it’s not so surprising that the media company went down ... more
Year: 2017
Christopher Gayle v The Age Company Pty Limited & Ors
NSW Supreme Court jury finds it untrue that international cricketer Chris Gayle intentionally exposed himself to a team massage therapist and indecently propositioned her in 2015 … Massive loss for three Fairfax companies as the jury also finds they published the story maliciously ... more
Online publication claims: Norwich Pharmacal orders and jurisdiction issues
Norwich Pharmacal orders can be employed against ISPs to identify anonymous internet “wrong-doers”, but a recent UK decision has highlighted some jurisdictional issues… Kirsten Sjovall examines the implications in this edited extract from a new book Online Publication Claims: A Practical Guide ... more
Online Publication Claims: An introduction
According to a new UK book, Online Publication Claims: A Practical Guide, media law is only beginning to respond to the many and varied challenges of the internet … The book’s editors Guy Vassall-Adams QC and Hugh Tomlinson QC outline the issues in this edited extract from their introduction ... more
Christopher Gayle v The Age Company Pty Limited & Ors
The treatment of women in (and around) sport gets an airing in the NSW Supreme Court … Fairfax’s chief witness testifies as to the truth of her allegation against cricketer Chris Gayle … His barrister claims it was all a conspiracy to oust his client from the West Indies team ... more
Christopher Gayle v The Age Company Pty Limited & Ors
A difficult day for both sides … Chris Gayle’s only witness is skewered by his own text message and The Age sports editor comes under intense scrutiny over her steps to verify a story… Witness credit, journalistic practice and what stacks up feature on day two ... more
Christopher Gayle v The Age Company Pty Limited & Ors
West Indies star cricketer Chris Gayle says an alleged genital exposure incident “never happened” and he did “nothing wrong” in the infamous Mel McLaughlin interview … Fairfax pleads truth and statutory qualified privilege over ten publications … Gayle’s counsel argues that a judge, not a jury, should decide reasonableness ... more
John Lesses v Theo Maras (No 2)
Internecine defamation warfare in Adelaide’s Greek Orthodox community ends with damages reduced on appeal by $50,000 … SA Full Court rejects both parties’ extreme submissions on quantum … more
A rare win for the Lange doctrine
The High Court’s upholding of the Lange implied free speech doctrine isn’t as surprising or straightforward as it appears … Media lawyer Graham Hryce finds the court’s reasoning fraught with legal complexity ... more
High Court bulletin
Big win for free speech … High Court finds Tasmanian laws protecting forestry operations from protesters are invalid because they impinge upon the constitutional implied freedom of political communication … The court refuses special leave over “perverse” jury verdict substitution in another matter ... more
“Heroic” or just plain risky? Twitter’s approach to proceedings backfires
Recent NSW Supreme Court-ordered Twitter takedown involving an anonymous tweeter has some interesting lessons, particularly for “foreign” online platforms … Simon Johnson and Freda Chan look at the judgment and its implications ... more
Google Inc v Janice Duffy
SA Full Court finds Google liable for publication of defamatory content of snippets and hyperlinked articles … This case note and comment by London-based media law specialist Hugh Tomlinson QC ... more