Part Two – NSW Supreme Court trial of defences and damages. The Byron Bay newspaper wars continue as Ross Tucker proprietor of The Saturday Star comes under pressure from counsel for The Byron Shire Echo ... more
Year: 2005
Thomas v Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Section 7A trial. Jury finds only one imputation defamed former Taree police officer who was the subject of an investigation by Four Corners’ Sally Neighbour ... more
Ross Tucker v Echo Publications Pty Ltd and Fast Buck$
Part One – Conservative newspaper publisher in Byron Shire sues the Echo (now part of Eric Beecher’s stable) over “advertisement” by Fast Buck$ ... more
James O’Neill v Australian Broadcasting Corporation & Ors
Justice Crawford of the Supreme Court of Tasmania grants an injunction to James O’Neill, a convicted child killer, preventing the broadcast of an ABC documentary linking the plaintiff to other suspected murders. Still serving a life sentence Crawford J said the prisoner had a repution to protect and anyway it wasn’t the media’s job to convict him ... more
David Levine
David Levine gives a wide ranging interview to the Gazette of Law & Journalism. After nine years running the NSW Supreme Court defamation list he has some fascinating insights into the way plaintiffs and media defendants play the game. He talks of his most enjoyable and most dificult cases and the natural “predisposition” of judges to lean towards plaintiffs who take on large media corporations. He thinks corporations should be able to sue and the dead shouldn’t. And he believes there’s something in the public figure defence as it has developed in the US ... more
Gardiner v Horton Park Golf Club Maroochydore Inc and Hourigan
Solicitor plaintiff’s numerous imputations of extortion, bribery, unfitness and greed found not to arise from golf club newsletter and local newspaper ... more
Mason v Doyle
Damages of $50,000 assessed for verbal allegation of rape made against Liberal candidate outside council polling booth. The attack was heard by nine to 10 bystanders. No evidence of actual damage to reputation. Action undefended … more
Wen Yue He v Australian Chinese Newspapers Pty Ltd
Non-violent Chinese student mistakenly accused of violent crime. Identification witnesses didn’t believe the newspaper article referred to the plaintiff, yet the section 7A jury finds eleven of 19 imputations conveyed and defamatory ... more
SMEC Holdings Ltd v Boniface
Lengthy section 7A trial, mainly about publication. Ninety-six out of 100 imputations arising from a variety of publications, including emails, found to arise and to be defamatory ... more
Ainsworth v Burden
Trial aborted after two weeks of legal argument. One of the last remaining old system full jury defamation trials in NSW will have to start again after three jury discharges and the late withdrawal of the truth defence. The Court of Appeal needs more time to consider the admissibility of evidence ... more
John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v ACP Publishing Pty Ltd
Kerry Packer and his companies have lost three of the four actions they launched in late 1999 against John Fairfax Publications and CEO Fred Hilmer. In the latest defeat the ACT Court of Appeal overturned findings that Whitlam J took over a year to produce. Last case yet to be tried … more
Romzi Ali v Nationwide News Pty Ltd
Section 7A. Public Interest Advocacy Centre funds defamation case. Secretary of the Dee Why mosque defamed in three articles published in The Australian ... more