Category: Appeals

NSW Court of Criminal Appeal finds that “offensive” letters sent by a Muslim cleric to the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan are not protected by Lange qualified privilege ... more

NSW Court of Appeal rejects an unusual common law qualified privilege defence argument for The Korean Times, but reduces damages awarded to a Strathfield solicitor by $20,000 ... more

NSW Court of Appeal upholds both forms of qualified privilege in a case involving police uttering defamatory statements … No evidence that they were motivated by malice ... more

Restaurateurs win appeal over unpalatable Matthew Evans review in The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW Court of Appeal fails the defences of comment and truth on the basis that Evans didn’t actually dine at one of the restaurants named ... more

The Queensland Court of Appeal has decided that almost all of the imputations pleaded by Brisbane entrepreneur Ross Palmer for a “light-hearted” Courier Mail story should stay ... more

Another trip to the High Court for Clive Evatt? ... NSW Court of Appeal finds District Court Judge Andrew Colefax correctly struck out two imputations pleaded by NRL “cougar” Charmyne Palavi against 2UE – because she had deliberately destroyed evidence ... more

After six years in the courts, former Serbian paramilitary commander Captain Dragan (aka Daniel Snedden) comprehensively loses his appeal over a story in The Australian alleging he committed and condoned war crimes ... more

Channel Seven succeeds in overturning the controversial decision by NSW District Court judge Len Levy to dispense with a jury on his own motion … NSW Court of Appeal finds the judge had no power to do so ... more

Lange implied freedom of political communication tested in “offensive” letters sent by Muslim cleric to grieving parents of deceased soldiers … NSW Court of Criminal Appeal ponders the meaning of “offensive” ... more