Channel Nine defeats defamation and injurious falsehood claims brought over a news item which warned consumers about the dangers of baby “sleep positioners” ... Justice Christine Adamson determines the plaintiffs’ case fails the first threshold – meaning – and the rest ... more
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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, the press photographer and erstwhile boyfriend of former federal MP Trish Draper fails in two appeals – against Channel Seven and the ABC ... more
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
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
