Damages    January 17, 2026

Hall v Aldridge (No 2)

Supreme Court of Western Australia ... Mayor of suburban Perth council awarded $250,000 in aggravated damages ... Sued over Facebook posts and comments to local paper ... Campaign run by ratepayer who objected to mayoral endorsement of candidates for council election ... Defences largely rejected ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

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Dossier    December 21, 2025

Around the courts

District Court of Queensland ... Restaurant manager ordered to pay indemnity costs after found to have defamed former partner ... Failure to engage with reasonable offer in concerns notice ... Supreme Court of Australian Capital Territory ... Canberra resident has defamation claim against operator of light rail dismissed ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

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Litigation    December 21, 2025

Michelmore v Brown (No 9)

Supreme Court of Western Australia … Perth lawyer obtains dispensation from obligation of confidence over affidavit … Sought to deploy it in application for final restraining orders … Follows defamation action against former clients … Primary evidence of conduct … Editor Stephen Murray reports … more

 
Serious harm    December 21, 2025

Singh v Singh

Federal Court of Australia … Former president of Canberra Sikh Association establishes serious harm … Suing over email sent by majority of executive members to membership … Required president to disclose personal information or resign … Dispute over whether earlier anonymous email had “destroyed” reputation … Editor Stephen Murray reports … more

 
Interlocutory/Case-Management    December 21, 2025

Poland v Hedley [No 8]

Supreme Court of Western Australia ... Judge calls out delays and cost implications of interlocutory disputes in long running case ... Eight month delay in giving reasons for judgment noted ... Window for trial lost due to delays ... Fresh interlocutory dispute from strike out application ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

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Interlocutory/Case-Management    December 18, 2025

Alon Cassuto v Mary Kostakidis

Federal Court of Australia ... Case management in racial vilification claim brought by Zionist Federation CEO against journalist Mary Kostakidis ... Costs dispute over interlocutory application ... Justice Stephen McDonald counsels parties to maintain sense of proportion over trial length ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

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Appeals    December 18, 2025

Hooper v Phipps

NSW Court of Appeal ... Former Sydney councillor loses appeal over orders remainder of trial be heard by judge alone ... Two of three trials vacated due to plaintiff's health issues ... Error in subsection relied on for power to make order, but not determinative ... Court of Appeal would have come to same decision ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

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Interlocutory/Case-Management    December 18, 2025

Edwards v Giles

Supreme Court of NSW ... Sydney barrister has some success in strike out application over defence filed by Rebekah Giles and Giles George ... Suing for negligence and breach of Australian Consumer Law ... Needed to plead effect of phone call and email ... Hearne v Street obligation issue left for trial ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

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Appeals    December 18, 2025

Henderson v Harvey

NSW Court of Appeal ... Two wildlife carers denied leave to appeal on substance of appeal grounds ... Grounds of appeal were arguable but more needed for leave to appeal ... Disproportionality of costs weighed against grant of leave ... Error in joint award of damages ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

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Litigation    December 11, 2025

Sofronoff v ACT Integrity Commissioner

Federal Court of Australia … Former head of inquiry into prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann fails to overturn findings of serious corrupt conduct by ACT Integrity Commission … Walter Sofronoff KC provided confidential material to journalist Janet Albrechtsen, and an advance copy of final report to Albrechtsen and ABC journalist … Editor Stephen Murray reports … more

 
Privacy    December 8, 2025

The new privacy tort and general law remedies

Statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy ... Former Queensland Supreme Court Judge Peter Applegarth KC examines the relationship between the statutory tort and the general law ... Can claimants pursue actions in the common law tort or equity? ... Breath of life for general law remedies ... more

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Privacy    December 8, 2025

Commentary on the “journalism exemption” in the new privacy tort

Tort of serious invasion of privacy ... Former Queensland Supreme Court Judge Peter Applegarth KC examines the journalism exemption to the tort in light of it being raised in the Groth case ... The "character of news" ... Consideration of the extrinsic material ... "A wide but uncertain exemption" ... more

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