Category: Interlocutory/Case-Management

County Court of Victoria .. Woman loses application to have action over Facebook posts summarily dismissed over adequacy of concerns notice ... Details of publication, imputations and serious harm challenged ... Statement of claim has deficient particulars ... Leave to replead ... Separate hearing on serious harm ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

District Court of NSW ... Strata committee member loses bid to have action brought by strata manager summarily dismissed ... Manager suing over posts on social media ... Imputations of greed and law-breaking ... Dispute over serious harm ... Dispute over publication ... Issues triable ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

Federal Court of Australia ... Interlocutory applications over categories for discovery in racial vilification action brought by CEO of Zionist Federation of Australia against former newsreader Mary Kostakidis ... Counsel for Alon Cassuto submits case for discovery speculative and oppressive ... Senior counsel for Kostakidis submits relevance to bad faith case ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

District Court of NSW ... Medical student at University of Wollongong fails in bid to obtain preliminary discovery identifying sources of student complaints ... Student and staff complaints resulted in exclusion ruling, later overturned ... Disputes over categories of discovery ... No objectively based desire to commence defamation action ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

Federal Court of Australia ... Former Pilates studio operators lose bid to transfer proceeding from Queensland Registry to Victorian Registry ... Facing action for misleading and deceptive conduct and defamation, as well as debt claim ... Distinction between transfer of Registry and venue for hearing ... Efforts better directed to timetabling ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

Federal Court of Australia ... Former producer with Seven Network's Spotlight program fails in bid to obtain dismissal of Seven's defence to his defamation action ... Claim concerns statements an employee had misused Seven's credit card and had been disciplined ... No evidence to establish contempt by Seven, News, media writer for The Australian ... No basis for injunctions ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

Federal Court of Australia ... Case management hearing in proceeding brought by radio presenter Jackie "O" Henderson against former employer Australian Radio Network ... Follows settlement in separate proceeding by Kyle Sandilands ... Dispute over timetabling for discovery ... Targeted categories ... Costs argument over discontinuance of Sandilands' cross-claim ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

District Court of Queensland ... Environmentally friendly battery manufacturer sues three clients ... Amended statement of claim for defamation struck out with leave to replead against two defendants ... Defamation claim against third dismissed ... Failure to properly plead oral publications ... Issues pleaded not in concerns notice ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia ... Meta fails in bid to have questions of defamatory meaning and serious harm determined at preliminary stage ... Sued by snake catcher and herpetologist over posts by rival ... History of litigation ... Meta pleads no serious harm and mitigation of damages as defences ... Editor Stephen Murray reports ... more