Victory for truth and responsible journalism … Notorious East End “businessman” loses his libel action against The Sunday Times. Mr Justice Simon finds it true that David Hunt headed “an organised crime network implicated in extreme violence and fraud” ... more
Category: Truth
Derick Sands v State of South Australia
Murder suspect Derick Sands loses another defamation action, this time against the SA Police … Defence of justification succeeds for press conference and press release as the plaintiff is found to have lied (again) ... more
Vivienne Dye v Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Barbara Chapman & Ors
Massive victory for the Commonwealth Bank as former employee Vivienne Dye loses all her actions – including in defamation and injurious falsehood … Reply-to-attack qualified privilege gets a rare showing ... more
National Telecoms Group Pty Ltd v John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd
Failed telco’s $142 million defamation action against Fairfax stutters to a start this week … The plaintiff’s counsel accuses Fairfax of irresponsible journalism … The judge adjourns for two days to give expert accounting witnesses the opportunity to agree – or disagree ... more
Fairfax Media Publications, Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand Pty Ltd and Linton Besser v Reginald Kermode
Fairfax appeals a “most regrettable” decision by Justice Carolyn Simpson, which effectively emasculated the contextual truth defence under the new uniform Defamation Act. The court hears complex argument from counsel for Fairfax and counsel for taxi tsar Reg Kermode ... more
Keysar Trad v Harbour Radio Pty Ltd
The NSW Court of Appeal takes a hatchet to Justice Peter McClellan’s judgment and Muslim community spokesman Keysar Trad wins his appeal against 2GB – in part ... more
Bruce Haddon v Dominic Steele and Evan Batten
God on their side? “Christians in the Media” win defamation action brought by a man expelled for allegedly sexually harassing young female parishioners … NSW Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Simpson finds it was true ... more
Daniel Snedden v Nationwide News Pty Ltd
The barrister for alleged war criminal Daniel Snedden struggles to convince the NSW Court of Appeal that Justice Megan Latham got it wrong when she found it true that Snedden committed a massacre and was a rapist – among other things ... more
Derick Sands v Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Ltd & Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Derick Sands, the press photographer and erstwhile boyfriend of former federal MP Trish Draper fails in two appeals – against Channel Seven and the ABC ... more
Brian Chetwynd v Armidale Dumaresq Council
Armidale Dumaresq Council wins defamation action brought by its former mayor. NSW Supreme Court Justice Bruce James upholds the majority of defences pleaded – truth, comment and qualified privilege – both statutory and common law ... more
Mamdouh Habib v Nationwide News Pty Ltd
Former terrorist suspect Mamdouh Habib wins appeal over Piers Akerman article that alleged he “knowingly made some false claims”. NSW Court of Appeal finds Justice Peter McClellan wrongly admitted evidence obtained while Habib was being interrogated in Pakistan and Guantanamo Bay ... more
Truth stranger than fiction
Best-selling legal writer John Grisham stars in his own courtroom drama and wins. NSW District Court Defamation List Judge Judith Gibson reviews the US Court of Appeals’ rejection of defamation (and other) proceedings brought by three plaintiffs over several non-fiction books ... more