Aaren Pty Ltd trading as Price Beat Travel v Arya [2020] NSWDC 657

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Aaren Pty Ltd trading as Price Beat Travel v Arya [2020] NSWDC 657 Hearing dates: 19 October-23 October 2020 Date of orders: 02 November 2020 Decision date: 02 November 2020 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Abadee DCJ Decision: See paragraph 303 Catchwords: DEFAMATION – defendant dissatisfied with services she received from plaintiff travel agency concerning flight travel to India – defendant publishes post on group Facebook page – whether imputations conveyed were defamatory – capacity of plaintiff company to sue – whether plaintiff had not more than 10 employees – whether plaintiff not a 'related corporation' – defence of justification – statutory privilege defence – common law qualified privilege – malice – honest opinion – damages claim – no demonstrable proof of loss in income following publication – whether corporate plaintiff entitled to any damages other than nominal damages WORDS AND PHRASES – "employs" – Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) s 9(2)(b) Legislation Cited: Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 9, 46, 50 Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), ss 3, 4, 8, 9, 25, 30, 31, 34, 35, 39 Defamation Act 2013 (UK), s 4 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), s 140 Evidence (Audio and Audio-Visual Links) Act 1998 (NSW), s 5B Cases Cited: Abrath v North Eastern Railway Company (1883) 11 QBD 440 ACE Insurance Ltd v Trifunovski (2011) 200 FCR 532 ACE Insurance Ltd v Trifunovski (2013) 209 FCR 146 Aid/Watch Inc v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (2010) 241 CLR 539 Apollo Shower Screens Pty Ltd v Building and Construction Industry Long Service Leave Payments Corporation (1985) 1 NSWLR 561 Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Hellicar (2012) 247 CLR 345 Bashford v Information Australia (Newsletters) Pty Ltd (2004) 218 CLR 366 Bellino v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1996) 185 CLR 183 Born Brands Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd (2014) 88 NSWLR 421 Born Brands Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd (No. 6) [2013] NSWSC 1651 Bristow v Adams [2012] NSWCA 166 Broome v Cassell & Co Ltd [1972] AC 1027 Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia v Odco Pty Ltd (1991) 29 FCR 104 Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Ltd v Manock (2007) 232 CLR 245 Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd v Mahommed [2010] NSWCA 335 Cheikho v Nationwide News Pty Ltd (No 5) [2016] NSWSC 29 Commercial Union Assurance Company of Australia Ltd v Ferrcom Pty Ltd (1991) 22 NSWLR 389 Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd (2020) 297 IR 269 Cush v Dillon (2011) 243 CLR 298 Damevski v Giudice (2003) 133 FCR 438 Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers Ltd [1993] AC 534 Digby v Financial News Ltd [1907] 1 KB 502 Fair Work Ombudsman v Ramsey Food Processing (2011) 198 FCR 174 Feldman v Polaris Media Pty Ltd as Trustee of the Polaris Media Trust t/as The Australian Jewish News [2020] NSWCA 56 Finance Sector Union of Australia v Commonwealth Bank of Australia [2001] FCA 1613; 111 IR 241 Flegg v Hallett [2015] QSC 167 Gardiner v John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd (1942) 42 SR (NSW) 171 Griffith v Australian Broadcasting Corporation [2010] NSWCA 257 Guise v Kouvelis (1947) 74 CLR 102 Harbour Radio Pty Ltd v Ahmed (2015) 90 NSWLR 695 Heartcheck Australia Pty Ltd v Channel 7 Sydney Pty Ltd [2007] NSWSC 555 Ho v Powell (2001) 51 NSWLR 572 Hockey v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (2015) 237 FCR 33 Hollis v Vabu Pty Ltd (2001) 207 CLR 21 Holmes a Court v Papaconstuntinos [2011] NSWCA 59 Homecare Direct Shopping Pty Ltd v Gray [2008] VSCA 111 Horrocks v Lowe [1975] AC 135 Howe & McColough v Lees (1910) 11 CLR 361 John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v Hitchcock (2007) 70 NSWLR 484 John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v O'Shane [2005] NSWCA 164 Kernsley v Foot [1952] AC 345 Lange v Australian Broadcasting Company (1997) 189 CLR 520 Lindholdt v Hyer [2008] NSWCA 264 Makim v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd (Unreported, Supreme Court of New South Wales, Hunt J, 15 June 1990) Marshall v Megna [2013] NSWCA 30 Megna v Marshall [2010] NSWSC 686 Morgan v Odhams Press Ltd [1971] 1 WLR 1239 New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council v Jones (1998) 43 NSWLR 300 Odco Pty Ltd v Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia [1989] FCA 483 Palace Films Pty Ltd v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2012] NSWSC 1136 Papaconstuntinos v Holmes a Court [2012] HCA 53 Reader's Digest Services Pty Ltd v Lamb (1982) 150 CLR 500 Redeemer Baptist School Ltd v Glossop [2006] NSWSC 1201 Restifa v Pallotta [2009] NSWSC 958 Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] 2 AC 127 Roberts v Bass (2002) 212 CLR 1 Rush v Nationwide News Pty Ltd [2018] FCA 357 Rush v Nationwide News Pty Ltd (No. 7) [2019] FCA 496 South Hetton Coal Company Ltd v North Eastern News Association [1894] 1 QB 133 State of New South Wales v IG Index plc (2007) 17 VR 80 Templar v Watt (No 3) [2016] NSWSC 1230 Triguboff v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2018] FCA 845 Texts Cited: Defamation Bill Second Reading Speech of the Attorney General (Mr Debus, MLA), NSW Legislative Assembly, Hansard, 13 September 2005 J D Heydon, Cross on Evidence (electronic version, LexisNexis) M Irving, The Contract of Employment (2nd ed, 2019, LexisNexis Butterworths) The Hon. Mr Justice D.H. Hodgson, 'The Scales of Justice: Probability and Proof in Legal Fact-Finding' (1995) 69 ALJ 731 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Aaren Pty Ltd trading as Price Beat Travel (Plaintiff) Ms P Arya (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr C Dibb for the plaintiff Ms S Chrysanthou SC and Mr N Olson for the defendant