Category: Qualified Privilege

Gold Coast turf wars result in rare victory for statutory qualified privilege under the new Defamation Act 2005. Queensland Supreme Court Justice Richard Chesterman upholds the defence for a letter the jury decided was not defamatory ... more

Peer Lindholdt, publisher of Cabbie magazine, loses appeal over his defamatory criticisms of taxi industry supremo Peter Hyer. Calling Hyer a “little Hitler” was not germane to an occasion of qualified privilege, but was published maliciously, says Justice Ruth McColl of the NSW Court of Appeal ... more

Full Court of Tasmania overturns a decision that ordered a woman to pay damages to her ex-husband over what she said in a police affidavit. The court affirms that witnesses in court proceedings cannot be sued for defamation ... more

The full bench of the Federal Court upholds the so-called media safe harbour defence in s.65A of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) in two landmark appeal judgments. Alan Bond loses against Paul Barry and Channel Seven wins against the ACCC ... more

The so-called “media safe harbour” comes under close scrutiny as the full bench of the Federal Court hears two appeals in relation to section 65A of the Trade Practices Act. Alan Bond pursues his journalistic nemesis, Paul Barry, while Channel Seven attempts to resist the ACCC ... more

NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison finds for the defendant, NSW Greens MP Ian Cohen, in his first defamation judgment since being elevated to the bench. Qualified privilege and comment succeed where truth fails ... more

NSW Court of Appeal upholds damages against The Echo of $139,329 to Byron Bay businessman and rival publisher Ross Tucker. The media cannot rely on qualified privilege if it publishes an endorsement of the attacked person’s response. Limits to the doctrine of response to attack yet to be clearly established ... more

House of Lords gives Reynolds qualified privilege a radical overhaul. The law should encourage responsible journalism and the standards required should be applied by judges in a practical and flexible manner ... more

Fairfax appeal over $100,000 awarded to a man who carried out an illegal backburn during a bushfire goes up in flames. Justice Simpson was right to reject the defences of qualified privilege and contextual truth ... more

Sydney Morning Herald journalists Anne Davies and Kate McClymont plus solicitor Richard Coleman maintain they acted fairly and reasonably in publishing an article that accused former NSW minister Eddie Obeid of corruption. Sources talk of fishing jaunts, Chinese banquets and boozy trips to Europe. The trial continues. ... more

Qualified privilege – common law and s.22 – got a thorough airing in the Echo newspaper’s appeal against a decision in favour of rival Byron Bay publisher Ross Tucker. Will Mason, Hodgson and McColl buy it? ... more

Absolute privilege applies to witness statement prepared for separate defamation proceedings. The statement was distributed to lawyers, defendants and to a spouse ... more