Domican v Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited [2019] FCA 1384

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Domican v Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited [2019] FCA 1384 File number: NSD 1297 of 2018

Judge: WIGNEY J

Date of judgment: 28 August 2019

Catchwords: DEFAMATION – whether publication contained defamatory imputations – where respondents plead defence of truth under the common law – where respondents plead alternative defence of contextual truth pursuant to s 26 of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) – where damages, including aggravated damages, are sought PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – interlocutory application – application to strike out particulars of defences – whether particulars of defences should be struck out pursuant to r 16.21(1) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) – consideration of principles concerning striking out particulars of a pleading – whether it is open for a respondent to raise a common law truth defence by pleading and seeking to justify alternative imputations to the imputations pleaded by the applicant – consideration of circumstances in which a respondent in defamation proceedings can raise a common law truth defence based on alternative imputations to the imputations pleaded by the applicant – whether the alternative imputations pleaded by the respondents differ in substance from the imputations pleaded by the applicant – whether contextual imputations pleaded in the defence were too general or imprecise – consideration of principles regarding contextual imputations – whether particulars of truth pleaded are sufficient and adequate – whether the substantial truth of imputations could be made out by the particulars of truth relied on in the defences – consideration of principles regarding sufficiency and adequacy of particulars of truth in a defamation proceeding