Member of the Bellino family sues over Courier-Mail articles commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Fitzgerald inquiry ... Imputations of criminality ... Defence of justification ... Failed attempts at mediation ... Clive Evatt had acted for the applicant ... Difficulty in finding an alternate counsel ... Judge allows an extension of time for filing affidavits and answers to interrogatories ... Stephen Murray reports ... more
Year: 2018
Greinert v Brooker No. 4
Leave to file amended cross-claim against Channel Nine ... 60 Minutes story on the trade in WW11 aircraft ... Defective pleadings ... Formulation of defendants' cross-claim in a proper form ... Any liability for "swollen" damages should be shared by Nine ... Stephen Murray reports ... more
Balzola v Passas & Anor
Case with an "unfortunate history" ... Verbal defamation ... One defence witness says one thing ... Another says another ... Conflicting evidence ... 13 witnesses in all ... Trial delayed ... Costs... Parisa Hart reports ... more
Emma Husar v BuzzFeed Pty Ltd & Others
In his "old fashioned" way Justice Rares gets to grips with the meaning of "slut" ... Labor MP cleared of allegations after internal investigation ... Another ALP candidate preselected for the seat of Lindsay ... Claim of aggravated and special damages ... "Fairly salacious" article ... "Double banger meaning" ... Stephen Murray reports ... more
Sarah Hanson-Young v David Leyonhjelm
It's come to this: Senator Leyonhjelm foreshadows interrogatories on whether the plaintiff had sex with men ... No draft interrogatories brought to court ... Defendant having trouble finding support ... Time is running out ... Privilege should be explained to Leyonhjelm ... Stephen Murray reports ... more
A brief history of recent court suppressions
"Suppression" is the media-law word for 2018 ... Everyone wants to know more about what has been suppressed by the courts ... Invariably the cat gets out of the bag ... Latest suppression statistics Australia-wide ... Are suppression orders sensible in the age of the internet? ... Richard Ackland reports ... more
Hang v Nguy (No 2)
Judge Judith Gibson rejects an application for a judge-alone defamation trial ... Dispute within a Buddhist temple ... 18 defendants ... Complexity largely caused by the plaintiff's own "forensic tactics" ... District Court quite capable of grappling with complex issues ... Wagner v Harbour Radio distinguished ... Janek Drevikovsky reports ... more
Murdoch University v Gooding
Injunction application dismissed by WA chief justice ... Preliminary inquiry into university ... Finding: "reasonable suspicion of misconduct" ... Critical article published by National Tertiary Education Industry Union ... Inquiry "a sham" ... Misleading and deceptive conduct ... Injurious falsehood ... Chilling effect ... Carmel Galati reports ... more
Cronau v Nelson (No 2)
Plaintiff required to find people who may have downloaded posts buried on a popular Facebook page ... Dietary disputes ... One more chance before the case is thrown out ... Janek Drevikovsky reports ... more
Craig McLachlan v Christie Whelan Browne & Ors (No. 7)
Defence case expands to include witnesses from the Dr Blake TV series ...Persistent characteristics of the plaintiff's behaviour ... Contextual truth defence based on Craig McLachlan's treatment of women in the workplace ... Stephen Murray reports ... more
Burns v Gaynor
Case demonstrates the gap between law and technology ... Difficulty with a litigant in person ... Proceedings commenced under the Anti Discrimination Act but later withdrawn ... Unsuccessful application for summary dismissal of defamation case ... Settlement between LGBTI Freedom Fighter and Conservative Catholic ... Case against second defendant still on foot ... Extreme and violent opinions ... Janek Drevikovsky reports ... more
Jensen v Nationwide News Pty Ltd (No 5)
Former Liberal Party MP sues over reports about his preselection and his novel ... Protection of journalist's sources ... Newspaper rule ... Evidence Act (WA) ... Sources and assessment of QP reasonableness ... The balance of considerations against disclosure ... Public interest ... Carmel Galati reports ... more